Jenna McLaughlin a national security and investigations reporter for Yahoo! News and Zach Dorfman Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs and a contributor at Yahoo! News, has won the 32nd Annual Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense. The $5,000 award recognizes journalists whose high standards for accuracy and substance help foster a better public understanding of National Defense.
This year, the award will be presented by Michael Ford, son of the late President Gerald R. Ford and Chairman of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, at the Foundation’s Annual Dinner on Monday, June 3, 2019, at The Capitol Hill Club in Washington, D.C.
Foundation Executive Director Jospeh Calvaruso (L), Foundation Chairman Mike Ford (C), and Foundation Trustee Carla A. Hills (R) with Jenna McLaughlin (LC) and Zach Dorfman (RC) from Yahoo! News, Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense in 2018 Recipients
When announcing their decision to award Jenna McLaughlin and Zach Dorfman the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense in 2018, the judges issued the following statement:
“The selection committee is pleased to honor Zach Dorfman and Jenna McLaughlin of Yahoo! News, as the recipients of the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on National Defence in 2018. Their reporting about the security compromise within a key intelligence communications system detailed the immense human, technical, and resource costs of failure while maintaining the integrity of efforts to close vulnerabilities. Their stories on the challenges US Defense and Intelligence agencies face in maintaining technological leadership at a time when cybersecurity threats change by the day illuminated the need for creativity and perseverance in an era when state and non-state adversaries can inflict great harm to US personnel and interests at levels below direct armed conflict. Their efforts challenge readers to evaluate and weigh the consequences of activity in an often unseen realm of national security and force us to consider the commitments required to safeguard the values of free societies. Despite their geographic distance in reporting these stories, these journalists’ investigative skills permitted them to produce pieces that represent a cohesive body of work in keeping with the theme of the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize’s goals. Congratulations to Mr. Dorfman and Ms. McLaughlan for their superb work.”
This year’s winners:
Jenna McLaughlin is a national security and investigations reporter for Yahoo News, where she focuses on the intelligence community, foreign policy, and other issues. McLaughlin previously covered intelligence and national security for CNN, Foreign Policy Magazine, The Intercept, and Mother Jones Magazine, following her graduation from Johns Hopkins University in 2014.
Zach Dorfman is a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs and a contributor at Yahoo News. Dorfman’s reporting on national security, espionage, and U.S. foreign policy has also appeared in Politico Magazine, Foreign Policy, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications. Dorfman was a 2017 Livingston Award finalist.
For more information about the annual prize or previous winners contact:
Joe Calvaruso
Executive Director
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation
303 Pearl Street NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504-5353
(616) 254-0397, jcalvaruso@38foundation.org
or visit our website at www.geraldrfordfoundation.org
