Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prizes History
Each year, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation awards two distinguished journalism prizes, one for reporting on the Presidency and the other for reporting on National Defense. These prizes, initiated in 1988, recognize reportorial excellence and the fostering of better public understanding of the presidency and national defense. Each year the two prizes are presented to the winners at a reception and event in Washington, D.C. and include a $5,000 award, one for each prize.
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation sponsors the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prizes for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency and Distinguished Reporting on National Defense to recognize and encourage thoughtful, insightful, and enterprising work by journalists covering the presidency and national defense. The Foundation is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan corporation whose programs are supported entirely by contributions and bequests in an effort to honor President Ford’s sustained commitment to public service.
Visit Prize Overview for detailed information about this year’s award winners, previous winners and the application or nomination procedure.
Previous Journalism Prize Winners
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation announced the winners of the 36th annual Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prizes for Distinguished Reporting in 2022 at its annual meeting on June 5. Winners are Tyler Pager, White House reporter for The Washington Post, and Dan Lamothe, national security writer for The Washington Post.
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation winners of the 35th annual Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting are Matt Viser, White House reporter for The Washington Post, and Megan Eckstein, naval warfare reporter for Defense News.
Viser received honors for “Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency,” while Eckstein was awarded for “Distinguished Reporting on National Defense.”
The 34th annual Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting (in 2020) has been presented to Jennifer Jacobs, senior White House reporter for Bloomberg News, and W.J. Hennigan, senior national correspondent for TIME Magazine. Jacobs received honors for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency in 2020, while Hennigan was awarded for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense.
T. Christian Miller, Megan Rose, Robert Faturechi, and Agnes Chang, all of ProPublica, and Michael C. Bender of The Wall Street Journal have received the 33rd Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for their reporting efforts in 2019. Additionally, Joel Schectman and Christopher Bing, journalists at Reuters, were given honorable mentions for the prize’s Distinguished Reporting on National Defense.
Molly Ball, national political correspondent for TIME magazine, and Jenna McLaughlin and Zach Dorfman of Yahoo! News have been named recipients of the 32nd annual Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting in 2018. Erika Ritchie of the Orange County Register has been selected as an honorable mention recipient.
Philip Rucker, White House Bureau Chief and Ashley Parker, White House reporter for “The Washington Post.”, have won the 31st Annual Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency.
J.J. Green, a national security correspondent with the WTOP Radio, has won the 31st Annual Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense.
Gregory Korte, White House Reporter for USA TODAY, has won the 30th Annual Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency.
David Martin, a national security correspondent, and Mary Walsh, a national security producer with the CBS News, has won the 30th Annual Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense.
Greg Jaffe, White House Reporter for The Washington Post, has won the 29th Annual Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency.
Andrew deGrandpre, a senior editor with the Military Times network in Washington, DC, has won the 29th Annual Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense.
Peter Baker, Chief White House Correspondent for “The New York Times,” has won the 28th annual Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency.
The team of W.J. Hennigan and Ralph Vartabedian, who report on national security issues for the Los Angeles Times, won the 28th annual Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense.
Glenn Thrush, Senior Writer for Politico Magazine won the 27th annual Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency.
Dave Philipps who reports on military affairs for The Gazette in Colorado Springs, has won the 27th annual Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense.
John Dickerson, Chief Political Correspondent for Slate and political director of CBS News, has won the 26th annual Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency.
Josh Gerstein and Carrie Budoff Brown of Politico will receive an Honorable Mention for the 26th annual Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency.
Scott Wilson, White House correspondent for The Washington Post, has won the 25th annual Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency.
Corinne Reilly who reports on military affairs for The Virginian-Pilot, has won the 25th annual Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense.
Steven Thomma, White House Reporter for the McClatchy Newspapers, has won the 24th annual Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency.
Shane Harris, Senior Writer for the Washingtonian, has won the 24th annual Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense.
Ben Feller, White House Reporter for The Associated Press, has won the 23nd annual Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency.
Greg Jaffe, Military Affairs Reporter for The Washington Post, has won the 23nd annual Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense.
Kenneth T. Walsh, Chief White House Correspondent for U.S. News & World Report, has won the 22nd annual Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency.
James Kitfield, national security and foreign affairs correspondent for the National Journal, has won the 22nd annual Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense.
Peter Baker, The Washington Post White House correspondent, has won the 21st annual Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency.
Rick Atkinson, a reporter for The Washington Post, has won the 21st annual Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense.
For more information about the annual prize or previous winners, contact:
Journalism Contest Coordinator
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation
303 Pearl Street NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49504-5353
Phone: (616) 254-0393
E-mail: press@38foundation.org
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