Scripps Howard Fund announces winners of 72nd Scripps Howard Journalism Awards

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The Scripps Howard Fund has announced winners of the 72nd Scripps Howard Journalism Awards, recognizing outstanding journalism across 12 categories. The competition awarded $140,000 in total prize money to winning news organizations and journalists. STAT received the prestigious Impact Award for their investigation 'Health Care's Colossus' which exposed UnitedHealth's practices of monetizing patients and reducing competition. Other notable winners include KUOW Public Radio for Audio Storytelling, The Boston Globe for Business Reporting, and FRONTLINE PBS for Local Video Storytelling. The awards showcase impactful journalism ranging from financial mismanagement investigations to environmental reporting and human interest storytelling. Winners will receive prize money, trophies, and travel stipends to present their work to journalism students at participating universities.

06/10/2025 - 01:00 PM

CINCINNATI, June 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The winners of the 72nd Scripps Howard Journalism Awards exemplify the power of journalism in bringing to light critical societal issues. From revelations of financial mismanagement in a global hospital chain to insights into a deadly wildfire, this year's winners made significant contributions to journalism in 2024.

The Scripps Howard Journalism Awards, one of the nation's most prestigious journalism competitions, honor work from television stations and networks, radio and podcasts, visual media, online media outlets, independent producers, newspapers and print publications. A panel of veteran journalists and media leaders selected the winners from nearly 600 entries across 12 categories.

The Scripps Howard Fund will present $140,000 in prize money to the winning news organizations and journalists, including the winner of the coveted Impact Award. The Impact Award winner is deemed to have had the greatest impact from among the list of winners.

"Collectively, these winners exemplify the power of journalism to inform, engage and inspire change," said Meredith Delaney, president and CEO of the Scripps Howard Fund. "Their impactful storytelling highlights the need for accountability and the consequences of systemic failures on vulnerable communities."

The 72nd Scripps Howard Journalism Awards winners are:

Excellence in Audio Storytelling: KUOW Public Radio, The Seattle Times – "Lost Patients"

Excellence in Business/Financial Reporting: The Boston Globe with contributions by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project – "Spotlight coverage of Steward Health Care"

Excellence in Environmental Reporting, honoring Edward W. "Ted" Scripps II: The Guardian U.S., Forensic Architecture – "Marathon: The Huge U.S. Toxic Fire Shrouded in Secrecy"

Distinguished Service to the First Amendment, honoring Edward Willis Scripps: The News & Observer – "Power and Secrecy"

Excellence in Local/Regional Investigative Reporting: San Francisco Chronicle in collaboration with University of California, Berkeley Investigative Reporting Program – "Right to Remain Secret"

Excellence in Local Video Storytelling, honoring Jack. R. Howard: FRONTLINE (PBS) – "Maui's Deadly Firestorm"

Excellence in Narrative Human-Interest Storytelling, honoring Ernie Pyle: The New York Times – "America, Polarized"

Excellence in National/International Investigative Reporting, the Ursula and Gilbert Farfel Prize: STAT – "Health Care's Colossus"

Excellence in National/International Video Storytelling, honoring Roy W. Howard: FRONTLINE (PBS) – "A Year of War: Israelis and Palestinians"

Excellence in Opinion Writing: Detroit Free Press, Eye On Michigan – "Michigan's Watchdog is 'On Guard'"

Excellence in Visual Human-Interest Storytelling: ProPublica – "The Year After a Denied Abortion"

Impact Award: STAT – "Health Care's Colossus"

Judges' comments: "In an exceptionally strong field of investigative entries, STAT's 'Health Care Colossus' stood out. STAT examined UnitedHealth, a corporate behemoth that provides health insurance to more than 50 million people. Combining old-fashioned shoe leather reporting and cutting-edge data analysis, STAT's journalists revealed how UnitedHealth has used its vast network of doctors to reduce competition while increasing profits at the expense of patients and taxpayers. As STAT noted in the first of a series of deeply researched stories, UnitedHealth's doctors have engaged in a 'strategy to make their patients seem as sick as possible,' while transforming medicine throughout the nation 'into an assembly line that treats millions of patients as products to be monetized.' STAT's reporting prompted calls for reform by federal and state lawmakers."

View the gallery of finalists here.

In addition to the prize money and trophy, Scripps Howard Journalism Award winners will also receive a travel stipend/honorarium to visit a university this fall and present their entry to journalism students.

"This new program presents a unique opportunity for these students to learn directly from some of the best journalists in the country," said Mike Canan, senior director of journalism strategies for the Scripps Howard Fund. "Students will be able to network and produce stories about the visit – preparing them for the future of journalism."

View the full list of universities participating in this program here.

The Scripps Howard Fund, in partnership with the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, also recognizes the winners for its two journalism education awards:

Teacher of the Year: Mark Horvit, professor, University of Missouri School of Journalism

Administrator of the Year: Marie Hardin, dean, Pennsylvania State University's Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications

Learn more about past Scripps Howard Journalism Award winners at SHJAwards.org.

Media contact: Molly Miossi, The E.W. Scripps Company, 513-977-3713, molly.miossi@scripps.com

About the Scripps Howard Fund
The Scripps Howard Fund, a public charity established by The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP), is dedicated to creating informed and engaged communities through journalism education, childhood literacy and local causes. At the crossroads of the classroom and the newsroom, the Fund is a leader in supporting journalism through scholarships, internships, minority recruitment and development and First Amendment causes. The Scripps Howard Awards stand as one of the industry's top honors for outstanding journalism. The Fund's annual "If You Give a Child a Book …" childhood literacy campaign has distributed thousands of new books to children in need across the nation. The Fund partners with Scripps brands to create awareness of local issues and support organizations that build thriving communities. The Scripps Howard Fund administers funding for the Scripps Howard Foundation, a private foundation established in 1962 to advance charitable causes important to The E.W. Scripps Company and the Scripps and Howard families.