•
1985: Lucy Morgan and
Jack Reed of
St. Petersburg Times (Florida), "for their thorough reporting on Pasco County Sheriff John Short, which revealed his department's corruption and led to his removal from office by voters." •
1985: William K. Marimow of
The Philadelphia Inquirer, "for his revelation that city police dogs had attacked more than 350 people - an exposure that led to investigations of the K-9 unit and the removal of a dozen officers from it." •
1986: Jeffrey A. Marx and
Michael M. York of
Lexington Herald-Leader (Kentucky), "for their series 'Playing Above the Rules,' which exposed cash payoffs to
University of Kentucky basketball players in violation of
NCAA regulations. However, the UK basketball program did little to reform itself in the wake of the articles; true reform would not come until the program was involved in another cash-for-recruits scandal three years later." •
1987: Daniel R. Biddle,
H.G. Bissinger, and
Fredric N. Tulsky of
The Philadelphia Inquirer, "for their series 'Disorder in the Court,' which revealed transgressions of justice in the
Philadelphia court system and led to federal and state investigations."
John Woestendiek of
The Philadelphia Inquirer for "outstanding prison beat reporting, which included proving the innocence of a man convicted of murder." •
1988: Dean Baquet,
William C. Gaines, and
Ann Marie Lipinski of
Chicago Tribune, "for their detailed reporting on the self-interest and waste that plague
Chicago's City Council." •
1989: Bill Dedman of
Atlanta Journal and Constitution, "for his investigation of the racial discrimination practiced by lending institutions in Atlanta, reporting which led to significant reforms in those policies." •
1990: Lou Kilzer and
Chris Ison of
Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune, "for reporting that exposed a network of local citizens who had links to members of the
Saint Paul Fire Department and who profited from fires, including some described by the fire department itself as being of
suspicious origin." •
1991: Joseph T. Hallinan and
Susan M. Headden of
The Indianapolis Star, "for their shocking series on medical malpractice in the state." •
1992: Lorraine Adams and
Dan Malone of
The Dallas Morning News, "for reporting that charged
Texas police with extensive misconduct and abuses of power." •
1993: Jeff Brazil and
Steve Berry of
Orlando Sentinel (Florida), "for exposing the unjust seizure of millions of dollars from motorists – most of them minorities – by a sheriff's drug squad." •
1994: Providence Journal-Bulletin (Rhode Island) staff, "for thorough reporting that disclosed pervasive corruption within the
Rhode Island court system." •
1995: Stephanie Saul and
Brian Donovan of
Newsday, "for their stories that revealed disability pension abuses by local police." •
1996: The Orange County Register staff, "for reporting that uncovered fraudulent and unethical fertility practices at a leading research university hospital and prompted key regulatory reforms." •
1997: Eric Nalder,
Deborah Nelson, and
Alex Tizon of
The Seattle Times, "for their investigation of widespread corruption and inequities in the federally sponsored housing program for Native Americans, which inspired much-needed reforms." •
1998: Gary Cohn and
Will Englund of
The Baltimore Sun, "for their compelling series on the international
shipbreaking industry that revealed the dangers posed to workers and the environment when discarded ships are dismantled." •
1999: The
Miami Herald staff, "for its detailed reporting that revealed pervasive voter fraud in a
city mayoral election that was subsequently overturned." •
2000: Sang-Hun Choe,
Charles J. Hanley, and
Martha Mendoza of
Associated Press, "for a report on the
killings of Korean civilians by American soldiers in the early days of the
Korean War." •
2001: David Willman of
Los Angeles Times, "for his pioneering exposé of seven unsafe prescription drugs that had been approved by the
Food and Drug Administration, and an analysis of the policy reforms that had reduced the agency's effectiveness." •
2002: Sari Horwitz,
Scott Higham, and
Sarah Cohen of
The Washington Post, "for a series that exposed the District of Columbia's role in the neglect and death of 229 children placed in protective care between 1993 and 2000, which prompted an overhaul of the city's child welfare system." •
2003: Clifford J. Levy of
The New York Times, "for his vivid, brilliantly written series 'Broken Homes' that exposed the abuse of mentally ill adults in state-regulated homes." •
2004: Michael D. Sallah,
Joe Mahr, and
Mitch Weiss of
Toledo Blade, "for a series on atrocities by the
Tiger Force during the
Vietnam War." •
2005: Nigel Jaquiss of
Willamette Week,
Portland, Oregon, "for his investigation exposing former governor
Neil Goldschmidt's long concealed
sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old girl." •
2006: Susan Schmidt,
James V. Grimaldi and
R. Jeffrey Smith of
The Washington Post, "for their indefatigable probe of Washington lobbyist
Jack Abramoff that exposed congressional corruption and produced reform efforts." •
2007: Brett Blackledge of
The Birmingham News, "for his exposure of cronyism and corruption in the state's two-year college system, resulting in the dismissal of the chancellor and other corrective action." •
2008 (dual winners):
Walt Bogdanich and
Jake Hooker of
The New York Times, "for their stories on
toxic ingredients in medicine and other everyday products imported from China, leading to crackdowns by American and Chinese officials." Staff of
The Chicago Tribune, "for its exposure of faulty governmental regulation of toys, car seats and cribs, resulting in the extensive recall of hazardous products and congressional action to tighten supervision." •
2009: David Barstow of
The New York Times, "for his tenacious reporting that revealed how some retired generals, working as radio and television analysts, had been co-opted by the Pentagon to make its case for the war in Iraq, and how many of them also had undisclosed ties to companies that benefited from policies they defended." •
2010 (dual winners):
Barbara Laker and
Wendy Ruderman of
Philadelphia Daily News, "for their resourceful reporting that exposed a rogue police narcotics squad, resulting in an FBI probe and the review of hundreds of criminal cases tainted by the scandal."
Sheri Fink of
ProPublica, in collaboration with
The New York Times Magazine, "for a story that chronicles the urgent life-and-death decisions made by one hospital's exhausted doctors when they were cut off by the floodwaters of
Hurricane Katrina." •
2011: Paige St. John of
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, "for her examination of weaknesses in the murky property-insurance system vital to Florida homeowners, providing handy data to assess insurer reliability and stirring regulatory action." •
2012 (dual winners):
Matt Apuzzo,
Adam Goldman,
Eileen Sullivan and
Chris Hawley of
Associated Press, "for their spotlighting of the New York Police Department's clandestine spying program that monitored daily life in Muslim communities, resulting in congressional calls for a federal investigation, and a debate over the proper role of domestic intelligence gathering."
Michael J. Berens and
Ken Armstrong of
The Seattle Times, "for their investigation of how a little known governmental body in Washington State moved vulnerable patients from safer pain-control medication to methadone, a cheaper but more dangerous drug, coverage that prompted statewide health warnings." •
2013: David Barstow and
Alejandra Xanic von Bertrab of
The New York Times, "for their reports on how Wal-Mart used widespread bribery to dominate the market in Mexico, resulting in changes in company practices." •
2014: Chris Hamby of
The Center for Public Integrity, Washington, D.C. "for his reports on how some lawyers and doctors rigged a system to deny benefits to coal miners stricken with
black lung disease, resulting in remedial legislative efforts." •
2015 (dual winners):
Eric Lipton of
The New York Times, "for reporting that showed how the influence of lobbyists can sway congressional leaders and state attorneys general, slanting justice toward the wealthy and connected."
The Wall Street Journal staff, "for 'Medicare Unmasked,' a pioneering project that gave Americans unprecedented access to previously confidential data on the motivations and practices of their health care providers."
The Wall Street Journal team included
John Carreyrou,
Chris Stewart,
Rob Barry,
Tom McGinty,
Martin Burch,
Jon Keegan and
Stuart Thompson. •
2016: Leonora LaPeter Anton and
Anthony Cormier of
Tampa Bay Times and
Michael Braga of
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, "for a stellar example of collaborative reporting by two news organizations that revealed escalating violence and neglect in Florida mental hospitals and laid the blame at the door of state officials." •
2017: Eric Eyre of
Charleston Gazette-Mail,
Charleston, West Virginia, "for courageous reporting, performed in the face of powerful opposition, to expose the flood of opioids flowing into depressed West Virginia counties with the highest overdose death rates in the country." •
2018: The staff of
The Washington Post, "for purposeful and relentless reporting that changed the course of a
Senate race in Alabama by revealing a candidate's
alleged past sexual harassment of teenage girls and subsequent efforts to undermine the journalism that exposed it." Team:
Stephanie McCrummen,
Beth Reinhard and
Alice Crites. •
2019: Matt Hamilton,
Harriet Ryan and
Paul Pringle of
Los Angeles Times, "for consequential reporting on a University of Southern California gynecologist accused of violating hundreds of young women for more than a quarter-century." •
2020: Brian M Rosenthal of
The New York Times, "for an exposé of New York City's taxi industry that showed how lenders profited from predatory loans that shattered the lives of vulnerable drivers, reporting that ultimately led to state and federal investigations and sweeping reforms." •
2021: Matt Rocheleau, Vernal Coleman, Laura Crimaldi, Evan Allen and Brendan McCarthy of
The Boston Globe, "For reporting that uncovered a systematic failure by state governments to share information about dangerous truck drivers that could have kept them off the road, prompting immediate reforms." •
2022: Corey G. Johnson, Rebecca Woolington and Eli Murray of the
Tampa Bay Times, "For a compelling exposé of highly toxic hazards inside Florida's only battery recycling plant that forced the implementation of safety measures to adequately protect workers and nearby residents." •
2023: Staff of
The Wall Street Journal, "for sharp accountability reporting on financial conflicts of interest among officials at 50 federal agencies, revealing those who bought and sold stocks they regulated and other ethical violations by individuals charged with safeguarding the public's interest." •
2024: Hannah Dreier,
The New York Times, "for a deeply reported series of stories revealing the stunning reach of migrant child labor across the United States and the corporate and governmental failures that perpetuate it." •
2025: Staff,
Reuters, "for a boldly reported exposé of lax regulation in the U.S. and abroad that makes fentanyl, one of the world's deadliest drugs, inexpensive and widely available to users in the United States." •
2026: Staff,
The New York Times, "for deeply reported stories that exposed how President Trump has shattered constraints on conflicts of interest and exploited the moneymaking opportunities that come with power, enriching his family and allies." == See also ==