Entries must be received or postmarked by 11:59PM EST on Friday, March 7, 2025. 

• Entries must be for work as published in print, presented online, or broadcast during 2024 by a media outlet based in the United States or its territories. (No podcasts allowed).

• Journalists may apply directly, or they may be nominated for one of the two prizes each year.

• Submissions with joint bylines may apply, or be nominated.

• Entries must be submitted on behalf of a journalist(s) and not an organization.

• For the Presidency Prize, reporting should address ways in which the President exercises leadership, sets policy and makes decisions, initiates programs and responds to events, relies on Cabinet and senior staff, and the structure and functioning of White House operations.

• For the National Defense Prize, reporting should address leadership, national security issues, Department of Defense operations, military operations, unconventional threats and targets, defense resource management, military preparedness, or international arms control.

• There is no application form or entry fee.

• Must include a minimum of four, but not more than five articles or stories of the candidate’s best reporting during 2024 on either the presidency or national defense.

• A letter of nomination from someone who is familiar with the candidate’s work.

• A brief biographical sketch identifying the candidate’s journalistic experience and training. Include the candidate’s address, phone number, and e-mail address.

• All text material submitted electronically should be formatted and submitted as PDFs and measure no larger than 8 1/2 x 14 inches. If URLs are included in the material, you must provide live links.

• Broadcast video entries must have a PDF transcript with material submission via live URL.

• Videos and other online content should be submitted via URL and must be placed outside of any paywall. If not possible, provide a simple username and password for judges.

• URLs must remain active until the Prizes are awarded in June.

• Broadcast entries submitted by mail must include eight DVDs with transcripts of broadcast.

• Postmarked by Friday, March 7, 2025.

• Address to:

  • Journalism Contest Coordinator
    Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation
    303 Pearl Street NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504-5353

Each prize will be determined by a separate panel of judges. Typically, judges are selected from journalism and academia or have experience in the executive branch or national defense matters.

Judging will be based on the journalist’s ability to foster better public understanding of either the United States presidency or national defense. The prizes recognize reportorial excellence as reflected by resourcefulness, insight, brevity, and quality of writing, rather than the quality of editorial comment.

Candidates for either prize should have compiled a year-long record of consistent, judicious, sensitive, and noteworthy coverage. The prizes recognize the quality of a journalist’s work throughout the year, rather than any single article or story.

Work may have appeared in print, broadcast, or been presented online during 2024 at a local, regional, national, or international level (daily newspapers, news magazines, or trade publications with a broad readership). Freelance, as well as staff journalists, may be candidates.