2026 – Grand Awards
Print Division
Print
First Place and BEST IN SHOW
“Tesla’s Dangerous Doors”
Dana Hull, Emily Chang and Staff
Bloomberg
Judges’ comments: There’s a question at the heart of this project that is almost painfully simple: Why couldn’t they get out? The Bloomberg team spent a year chasing that after a Thanksgiving Eve crash killed three college students, not from the impact, but because no one could open the doors. What followed exposed electric door handles as a hidden gamble automakers and regulators never fully reckoned with. Original data sets, FOIA records, and graphics telling readers how to escape their own cars … amazingly, information most owners didn’t have. Federal investigations opened. Legislation was introduced. Industrywide design changes followed. That’s the full arc of accountability journalism, and this team ran it all the way out.
Nick Oza Best of Show Photography Award
First Place and BEST IN SHOW
“ICE Broken Families”
Carol Guzy
Miami Herald
Judges’ comments: Capturing the heartbreak of broken families resulting from the brutal methods of ICE detention made Ms. Guzy’s portfolio stand out from the many entries focusing on ICE action and anti-ICE protests. Her photos showed ICE detention methods, but with each action she showed the loss and heartbreak instilled in the families of the detainees.
Broadcast Division
Michael Schurman Best in Show Television Award
First Place and BEST IN SHOW
“In the Shadows with Jason Bellini: Drone War Medics”
Jason Bellini, Linda Pattillo, Nick Refuerzo, Dmytro Kovalchuk and Steve Turnham
Judges’ comments: “Drone War Medics” shows how drone warfare in Ukraine has fundamentally changed battlefield medicine. Reporting from inside an elite combat medic unit, Jason Bellini captures the human cost of saving lives under constant aerial threat. Exceptionally produced under active combat conditions, this piece sets the bar for documentary filmmaking in a war zone. It pairs powerful storytelling with a rare frontline perspective and striking cinematography to create a truly immersive and educational experience for audiences
Radio
First Place and BEST IN SHOW
“Oak Flat: Past, Present, Future”
Gabriel Pietrorazio
KJZZ
Judges’ comment: The reporter hit the nail on the head with persistent reporting. A respect for the community and the topic was evident in the quality of the information gathered. And other news media soon followed this reporter’s lead for a story that’ll make a difference to the community’s understanding of the issues and process surrounding what was an unclear history and uncertain future.
Online Division
Online
First Place and BEST IN SHOW
“Missing the Bus: How Baltimore Failed a Generation of Students Struggling to Get to School”
Staff
The Baltimore Banner
Judges’ comments: The Banner’s “Missing the Bus” series embodies what the National Headliner Awards stand for: stellar shoe-leather reporting, facts presented clearly, voices that amplify problems, and thoughtful ideas for solving them. Through databases on bus locations and Census data; interviews with students, parents and educators; and analyses of roads and transportation routes in the city, Banner reporters showed that students who didn’t have access to a car were more likely to be tardy. They were more likely to suffer academically. They were less safe. The series pointed out a path forward with a yellow school bus system. The only piece missing: Commitment from public officials to fix the problems identified.