Toner Prizes
The Toner Prizes for Excellence in Political Reporting recognize the best U.S. national or local political reporting in any medium or on any platform—print, broadcast or online.
Two prizes—the Toner Prize for Excellence in National Political Reporting and the Toner Prize for Excellence in Local Political Reporting—are awarded annually by the Newhouse School. Each includes a $5,000 honorarium.
Entries are judged on how well they reflect the high standards and depth of reporting that marked Robin Toner’s work. Judges look for how well the entries:
- illuminate the electoral process, with a special focus on coverage of candidates, campaigns or elections, or
- reveal the politics of policy and
- engage the public in democracy.
Entries must be fact-based reporting, not commentary. Single articles, series or a body of work are eligible. Books are ineligible.
Now accepting entries for the 2025 Toner Prizes for Excellence in Political Reporting contest. Winners will be announced in March in Washington, D.C., at the Toner celebration event.
PAST RECIPIENTS
2024 Toner Prize for Excellence in National Political Reporting
The Washington Post
“Ottawa County”
- “In a thriving Michigan county, a community goes to war with itself”
- “A sex educator in Michigan refused to be shamed. Then came the backlash.”
- “The pandemic has faded in this Michigan county. The mistrust never ended.”
- “Can the exhausted, angry people of Ottawa County learn to live together?”
2024 Toner Prize for Excellence in Local Political Reporting
The Philadelphia Inquirer
“The race for Philadelphia’s 100th mayor”
- “Philly’s next mayor will inherit an unprecedented gun violence crisis. Here’s how it’s defining the race.”
- “Philly neighborhoods fall into six segregated groups of Democrats”
- “Cherelle Parker is proud of her West Oak Lane roots. As mayor, could she save Philly’s ‘middle neighborhoods’?”
- “How Cherelle Parker won the primary: Black voters, a boost from labor, and a personal story of Philly grit”
2024 Toner Prize for Excellence in Local Political Reporting Honorable Mention
THE CITY
“Straw Donors, Ethics Violations Plague Eric Adams Campaign Fundraising Efforts”
- “New Questions Arise Over Adams Donors: One Says She Was Reimbursed, Others Say They Never Gave”
- “Adams Campaign Repeatedly Ignored Regulators’ Demands to Identify Supporters Behind $300,000 in Contributions”
- “Mayor’s Asian Affairs Liaison Raised Big Money—and Big Questions About Her Conduct”
- “Department of Investigation Opens Inquiry into a Key Adams Aide, Winnie Greco”
2023 Toner Prize for Excellence in National Political Reporting
Politico
“The Supreme Court and Abortion”
- Supreme Court has voted to overturn abortion rights, draft opinion shows
- ‘Operation Higher Court’: Inside the religious right’s efforts to wine and dine Supreme Court justices
- Justices shield spouses’ work from potential conflict of interest disclosures
- While advising Trump on judges, Conway sold her business to a firm with ties to judicial activist Leonard Leo
- ‘THE central issue’: How the fall of Roe v. Wade shook the 2022 election
2023 Toner Prize for Excellence in National Political Reporting Honorable Mention
ProPublica and The Texas Tribune
“Church Politics”
- Churches Are Breaking the Law by Endorsing in Elections, Experts Say. The IRS Looks the Other Way.
- These 20 Churches Supported Political Candidates. Experts Say They Violated Federal Law.
- Texas Churches Violate the Law Ahead of Tuesday’s Election, Experts Say
- Right-Wing Think Tank Family Research Council Is Now a Church in Eyes of the IRS
- A Right-Wing Think Tank Claimed to Be a Church. Now, Members of Congress Want to Investigate.
2023 Toner Prize for Excellence in Local Political Reporting
Phil Williams of WTVF-TV, Nashville, Tennessee
“NewsChannel 5 Investigates: Revealed”
2022 National Toner Prize
The Washington Post
“The Attack”
2022 Local Toner Prize
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Inside the Campaign to Undermine Georgia’s Election”
2021 National Toner Prize
David A. Graham, The Atlantic
2021 National Toner Prize Honorable Mention
Jennifer Medina, The New York Times
2021 Toner Prize for Excellence in Local Political Reporting
LehighValleyLive.com Staff
2020 National Toner Prize
The Boston Globe
2020 Local Toner Prize
WBEZ Public Media
2019: Jason Zengerle
2018: The Washington Post
2017: David Fahrenthold, The Washington Post
2016: Alec MacGillis, ProPublica
2015: Dan Balz, The Washington Post
2014: Karen Tumulty, The Washington Post
2013: Molly Ball, The Atlantic
2012: Jane Mayer, The New Yorker
2011: Craig Harris, The Arizona Republic
