The Berger Award, named after the late New York Times reporter Meyer “Mike” Berger, is awarded to a reporter(s) for an outstanding example of in-depth, human interest reporting.
How to Enter
The 2023 Berger Award will open for nominations in January 2023
2021 Berger Award Winner
Joe Sexton, a reporter and senior editor at ProPublica, has won the 2021 Meyer “Mike” Berger Award for his story showing two sides of the criminal justice system: a teenage boy named Nelson Cruz who was convicted for a 1998 murder solely on the testimony of one biased and tainted witness, and a judge afflicted with early-onset Alzheimer’s who heard his appeal decades later.
About
Members of the faculty of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism judge the entries. The award, which consists of a certificate from Columbia and a $1,500 prize, is conferred annually at the School’s Journalism Day ceremony in May.
Berger won a 1950 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting for his story on a veteran who went on a shooting spree in Camden, New Jersey, killing several residents. He then reintroduced the newspaper’s “About New York” column in the early 1950s, setting the standard for evocative and eloquent human interest reporting. Berger passed away in 1959. Louis Schweitzer, a New York industrialist who admired Berger’s work, created the Berger Award in 1960.
Past Winners
See past winners:
|
Year |
Name |
Organization |
Work |
Judges |
| 2020 | Thomas Curwen and Francine Orr | Los Angeles Times | “The Street Within,” an immersive series that followed eight residents of a homeless encampment who were fast-tracked to apartments in South Los Angeles. | Joanne Faryon, Meg Kissinger, Dale Maharidge |
| 2019 | Terrence McCoy | The Washington Post | A series on Americans who were challenged in deeply personal ways by some of the most significant political and social issues of the day including the opioid crisis and immigration: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | Joanne Faryon, Meg Kissinger, Dale Maharidge |
| 2018 | John Woodrow Cox | The Washington Post | A series on children affected by gun violence: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | David Hajdu, Meg Kissinger, Karen Stabiner |
| 2017 | Eli Saslow | The Washington Post | A series showcasing pockets of suffering in white America: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | David Hajdu, Dale Maharidge, Paula Span |
|
2016 |
Ken Armstrong and T. Christian Miller |
The Marshall Project and ProPublica |
David Hajdu, Dale Maharidge and Ruth Padawer |
|
|
2015 |
Joanne Faryon and Brad Racino |
inewsource |
“An Impossible Choice: Deciding When a Life is No Longer Worth Living” |
Andie Tucher, David Hajdu and Dale Maharidge |
|
2014 |
Julia O’Malley |
Anchorage Daily News |
Andie Tucher, David Hajdu and Jonathan Weiner |
|
|
2013 |
Sheri Fink |
Freelance |
A series of pieces exploring the catastrophic consequences of bureaucratic, structural, and political failures during the deadly hurricane season of 2012. |
David Hajdu, Michael Shapiro and Andie Tucher |
|
2012 |
John Branch |
New York Times |
Sheila Coronel, Andie Tucher and Dale Maharidge |
|
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2011 |
Anne Barnard |
New York Times |
Columbia Journalism School Faculty |
|
|
2010 |
Joanna Connors |
The Plain Dealer |
Columbia Journalism School Faculty |
|
|
2009 |
Brendan McCarthy |
Times-Picayune |
Columbia Journalism School Faculty |
|
|
2008 |
Michael Paulson |
The Boston Globe |
Columbia Journalism School Faculty |
|
|
2007 |
Abigail Tucker |
The Baltimore Sun |
2006 Reporting |
Columbia Journalism School Faculty |
For a full list of past recipients, click here (PDF).
Judges
The Berger Award is judged by Columbia Journalism School faculty.
Contact
212-854-6468
cjsprizes@gmail.com
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