John Jay College’s annual prizes for Excellence in Criminal Justice Reporting are the nation’s only specific awards granted for justice journalism. Established in 2006, the awards are announced annually in January for work published or posted online by a U.S.-based media outlet in the previous 12 months, and are given in two categories: “single story” and “series.”
Called the “Pulitzers” of crime journalism, the $1,500 awards are administered by the Center on Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay, and judged by a panel of leading journalists and educators. They highlight investigative, feature, analytical,and enterprise work that has had a significant impact on public understanding of criminal justice issues.
To qualify for submission, stories must be published or posted between November 1 and October 31 of the previous year. Deadlines and instructions for filing are posted online at The Crime Report at the beginning of each prize period.
The prizes are awarded at a special dinner during the annual two-day John Jay/Harry Frank Guggenheim Symposium on Crime in America in February.
The annual prizes are supported by a grant from the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation.
Entry fee: $75
For questions about the prize, please contact Ricardo Martinez at: rmartinez@jjay.cuny.edu , 646.557.4690; or Stephen Handelman at: shandelman@jjay.cuny.edu
PRIZEWINNERS
2019 Winners: Type Investigations and Pro Publica
2018 Winners: Miami Herald and Chicago Reader
View photos of the 2018 Trailblazer and Prize dinner here
2017 Winners ProPublica and Mother Jones
2016 Winners The Marshall Project and the Belleville News-Democrat
2015 Winners The New Yorker and the Post and Courier (Charleston)
2014 Winners The (Sarasota) Herald Tribune and the South Florida Sun Sentinel
2013 Winners The Times-Picayune and Mother Jones
2012 Winners The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and Mother Jones
2011 Winners New York Magazine and The Philadelphia Inquirer
2010 Winners The Belleville News Democrat and the Austin Chronicle
2009 Winners The Seattle Post-Intelligencer and The Times Herald-Record
2008 Winners The Denver Post and The Wall Street Journal
2007 Winners The San Jose Mercury and The Sacramento Bee
2006 Winners The Rocky Mountain News and the Boston Phoenix
THE JUSTICE TRAILBLAZER
Since 2013, The Crime Report in collaboration with the Center on Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay College has honored individuals from the media and related fields who have expanded public awareness about the challenges and complexities of criminal justice.
The 2018 Trailblazer was Bill Moyers.
Past winners have included David Simon, creator of “The Wire” (2013); Piper Kerman, author of Orange is the New Black (2014); Maria Hinojosa, PBS host and founder of Futuro Media (2015); and Jelani Cobb (2016), New Yorker writer and director of the Institute for African American Studies at the University of Connecticut; Van Jones. of CNN.