The 90th National Headliner Award winners honoring the best journalism in the United States in 2023 were announced today. The awards were founded in 1934 by the Press Club of Atlantic City. The annual contest is one of the oldest and largest in the country that recognizes journalistic merit in the communications industry.
The Best in Show Newspapers Award went to the staff of the Miami Herald in Florida for “Shakedown City.” The story won first place in the public service in top 20 media market category.
“A pack of gumshoes from the Miami Herald, who in their traditional fashion, break revelation after outrageous revelation. Results: Investigations from the state attorney general, the SEC, the FBI and the IRS among others. … This is the greatest documented municipal corruption project we have seen in years,” the judges said.
The Nick Oza Best in Show Photography Award went to Sam Gomez of The Oregonian and OregonLive in Portland, Oregon, for his spot news photo titled “A Single Shot.”
Gomez was an out-of-town visitor to Portland walking through downtown when he witnessed the fatal shooting of a road rage victim. As Gomez raised his smartphone to record the scene, he was shot in the leg by the gunman. The award was one of eight won by The Oregonian.
The Digital Journalism Best in Show winner went to the staff of Reuters for “Slavery’s Descendants,” which won in the digital presentation of a single features topic category.
“History and journalism are full of tales of half-truths and other misinformation. Like reporter Tom Lasseter, for whom this is also personal, the reader doesn’t know what to expect or what’ll be revealed. The remarkable efforts Reuters put into the production lead us smoothly along, letting us hover or click on links uncovering more and more,” the judges said.
In the radio categories, the Best in Show winner went to Dan Kraker of Minnesota Public Radio for his story titled “When conditions align, skaters seek out ‘wild ice’.” The story won in the feature and human interest story category.
The judges said “this delightful and thorough adventure from MPR comes with a symphonic rendering of the many sounds the just-right ice can make.”
The Michael Schurman Best in Show Television Award went to the staff of ESPN for “Sacred Dog,” which won in the category for broadcast television networks, cable networks and syndicators documentary or series of reports on the same subject. The story about a Native American relay race on horses was praised by the judges for its “Kentucky Derby level production value in cinematic visuals, symphonic sound design and captivating story following families fighting for pride and survival, in both the sport and life.”
CBS News was the top award winner with 18 (13 for television and five for radio). Newsday won 14 awards, 12 of which for photography. National Public Radio won 10 awards. NBC News organizations, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Philadelphia Inquirer each collected eight awards this year.
See the full list of all 2024 Winner