CJS Alumni Named Finalists for the 2025 INNY Awards

Thirteen alumni and affiliates of Columbia Journalism School are finalists for the 2025 INNY Awards, presented annually by the Institute for Nonprofit News. Their work spans diverse topics, regions and newsroom sizes, united by a shared commitment to journalism that serves the public good.

The INNYs honor high-impact journalism often produced outside mainstream outlets. This year’s CJS finalists exemplify that mission through deeply reported, community-driven storytelling, represented across nearly every award category.

Learn more about the finalists and their work: 

Best Investigative Journalism Award, Micro Division

• Ottavia Spaggiari, '19 M.A. Politics, and Ko Bragg, '16 M.S., The Margin
  Eroding Indigenous Sovereignty: How Climate Change Complicates the Fight for Tribal Nations to Prove Who They Are

Best Investigative Journalism Award, Large Division

• 2025 duPont-Columbia Award Winner, Center for Public Integrity, Mother Jones, Reveal and PRX
  40 Acres and a Lie
• Jo Napolitano, 2017 Spencer Fellow, The 74
  Unwelcome to America

Breaking Barriers Award, Micro Division

• Ko Bragg, '16 M.S., The Margin
  Eroding Indigenous Sovereignty: How Climate Change Complicates the Fight for Tribal Nations to Prove Who They Are

Insight Award for Explanatory Journalism, Medium Division

• Salina Arredondo, '23 M.S., Public Health Watch
  Fumed

Insight Award for Explanatory Journalism, Large Division

• Katy Golvala, '21 M.A. Business and Economics, The Connecticut Mirror
  Priced Out

Journalism Collaboration of the Year

• Nandhini Srinivasan, '24 M.S., The Tributary and Miami Herald
  Red Lights, Green Cash
• Alysia Santo, '11 M.S., St. Louis Public Radio, APM Reports, and The Marshall Project
  Unsolved

Plus: LRAP Support Makes Recognition Possible

Colin Hogan, '22 M.S., a 2024 recipient of the Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP), is a finalist for the Insight Award for Explanatory Journalism, Medium Division, for his reporting at New Bedford Light on Immigration 2025: A Series.

LRAP provides up to $50,000 in forgivable loans over five years to recent graduates working in nonprofit newsrooms, helping ease the burden of student debt. By reducing financial barriers, LRAP enables journalists like Hogan to focus on producing in-depth, community-rooted reporting that strengthens local news and serves the public interest.

The 2025 INNY Award winners will be announced on September 10. 

Explore the full list of finalists and learn more about the Local and Nonprofit News Initiative, a key pillar of CJS2030.