2025 Journalism Prizes
Ashley Parker, Michael Scherer, Sig Christenson, Renee Dudley, Doris Burke Honored for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency and National Defense
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation announced the winners of the 39th annual Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prizes for Distinguished Reporting in 2025 at its annual meeting in Grand Rapids, MI on June 1, 2026.
These prestigious annual awards recognize excellence in coverage of the U.S. presidency and national defense—two pillars of American democracy that President Ford held in the highest regard.
This year’s honorees include Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer of The Atlantic for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency; Sig Christenson of the San Antonio Express-News for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense; and Renee Dudley and Doris Burke of ProPublica, who received an Honorable Mention in the national defense category.
Ashley Parker & Michael Scherer: Reporting on the Presidency
Trustees Roger Porter (left) and Mike Ford (far right) with Michael Scherer and Ashley Parker at the Foundation’s June 1, 2026 Annual Dinner.
Donald Trump’s return to the presidency brought to Washington all the action and drama of his first term, including his famously turbulent relationship with the news media.
Into this environment stepped a team of journalists who have covered Mr. Trump for more than ten years: Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer of The Atlantic. Both are experienced in White House reporting and both are personally known to the president. Indeed, both have received recognition from the president himself, in a style all his own, on Truth Social.
The team’s most notable work of 2025 was a deeply revealing piece on Mr. Trump’s political comeback that included a last-minute Oval Office interview. The article, featured on The Atlantic’s cover, dominated political news for days and confirmed the team’s reputation as leading reporters on the presidency.
Diligent, resourceful, and diplomatic, Ms. Parker and Mr. Scherer have produced consistently valuable and insightful stories on the Trump White House, on topics such as the president’s changing relationship with Elon Musk, his equanimity in the face of threatened assassination, and his heavy reliance on his personal cellphone – whose number these two reporters have, of course, managed to obtain and make use of.
As The Atlantic’s managing editor noted, Ms. Parker, a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, and Mr. Scherer possess skills that artificial intelligence “has not yet mastered and likely never will: building respect and trust with sources who can share information that no one else knows; providing context and nuance that take readers beyond what the administration wants people to see; knowing which moments and characters to delve into for deeper exploration; telling stories in captivating ways that make them enthralling to read.”
For their excellent journalism in the pages of The Atlantic, the selection committee honors Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer with the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency.
Sig Christenson, Reporting on National Defense
Trustees Roger Porter (left) and Mike Ford (far right) with Sig Christenson.
The Gerald R. Ford Foundation is pleased to present this year’s award for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense to Sig Christenson for his reporting for the San Antonio Express-News. Christenson’s consistent and contextual reporting placed some of the most significant national defense policies and actions of 2025 in the local setting, providing a nuanced understanding for readers. In short, Christenson’s work demonstrates that history matters.
Reflecting San Antonio’s status as “Military City USA” – where more than 15 percent of its home county’s residents are active-duty military members and veterans – Christenson has delivered consequential national defense reporting to the Express-News community for nearly three decades.
This year, Christenson’s coverage included an early look at how the U.S. Air Force’s updated diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies led to the hasty removal of historical information from its websites and training. Among the scrubbed content were features on the Tuskegee Airmen and a decorated Hispanic American World War II veteran with ancestral ties to General Santa Anna – the Mexican leader who prevailed at the Alamo. Some of these removals were later reversed. Christenson examined other major shifts in military culture with deep local and historical context, including the potential renaming of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, efforts to instill a ‘scary, tough’ ethos at military boot camps — the first encounter many of America’s sons and daughters have when they join the military, and the uncharacteristic silence of retired military leadership during significant national security debates.
Christenson’s body of work in 2025 paints a picture of today’s complex national defense landscape, while including detailed brush strokes highlighting the impacts that matter most to his hometown readership.
Christenson’s style of high-quality local defense journalism is a critical element of the national conversation that the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the National Defense would like to recognize with this year’s award.
Renee Dudley & Doris Burke, Honorable Mention, Reporting on National Defense
Renee Dudley with Ford Journalism Prizes national defense judge Paula Trimble. (Missing: Doris Burke)
The Gerald R. Ford Foundation is pleased to award an Honorable Mention to Renee Dudley and Doris Burke of ProPublica. Their groundbreaking series exposed a critical vulnerability in the nation’s digital infrastructure: Microsoft’s reliance on China-based engineers to maintain Defense Department computer systems.
Dudley and Burke’s investigation revealed that, to reduce costs, Microsoft routed sensitive support functionality through China — circumventing federal mandates that restrict system access to U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Through exhaustive shoe-leather reporting, Dudley cultivated a network of sources – including a lead from a LinkedIn post – ranging from high-level insiders to technical experts and revealed that the "digital escort" program was fundamentally flawed in its security against potential espionage and sabotage, as U.S. overseers often lacked the technical expertise of the engineers they were meant to monitor.
The impact of their reporting was immediate and transformative. Within days of publication, Microsoft eliminated the use of China-based engineers for DoD systems. This effort culminated in a permanent prohibition of the practice within the defense authorization bill signed by President Trump. By catalyzing rapid policy change to protect national infrastructure, Dudley and Burke’s work epitomizes the high standards of journalistic excellence and public service the Gerald R. Ford Foundation strives to recognize.
About the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prizes
The Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prizes recognize excellence in reporting on the presidency and national defense, honoring the legacy of President Ford and his commitment to transparency, accountability, and principled leadership. Winners are selected by an independent panel of distinguished judges from journalism and public affairs.