For Immediate Release
WASHINGTON, Sept. 13, 2024 – Military Reporters & Editors President Howard Altman today announced the winners of its 2024 MRE Journalism Contest. Journalists from 19 news organizations are being honored for their excellent work. The contest received the largest number of submissions in recent years, making it highly competitive.
Winning submissions came from Army Times, British Forces Broadcasting Service, Civil Eats, CNN, Honolulu Civil Beat, Military Times, Military.com, National Defense Magazine, NPR, People, ProPublica, Rolling Stone, Stars and Stripes, The Record by Recorded Future News, The Texas Tribune, The Washington Post, USNI News, WAAY-TV, and WPXI-TV.
“Military Reporters & Editors is proud to honor the very best in military journalism over the past year,” Altman said. “There were an impressive number of investigations and in-depth reporting across all media that helped shed light on issues facing the military. There was tough reporting on U.S. Coast Guard sexual misconduct. A detailed account of the U.S. Army’s frantic attempt to make up for major recruiting shortfalls. An investigative story into the U.S. Pacific Fleet’s failure to prevent and respond to Red Hill’s fuel leak. The breaking news of Biden and Zelensky’s clandestine first meeting in Ukraine. A deep dive into the Texas Guard and Operation Lone Star border missions. Racism and Medal of Honor awards. Analysis of challenges faced when working with U.S. Department of Defense budgets. And so very much more.
“The breadth and depth of these entries are a testament to these dedicated journalists and their news media organizations. Best of all, they serve the public interest.”
Judges awarded MRE’s top prize for print/digital media reporting, the Joseph L. Galloway Award for Distinguished Journalism, to CNN’s Blake Ellis and Melanie Hicken. The award is named after UPI combat correspondent and McClatchy Newspapers columnist Joe Galloway for the best of show. Steve Beynon of Military.com is this year’s recipient of the James Crawley Award. This award is in remembrance of Jim Crawley, a former president and longtime member of MRE. Crawley covered the Marine Corps during the invasion of Iraq as chief military reporter at the San Diego Union-Tribune. He later covered national security and veterans affairs in Washington, D.C., for Media General News Service.
Independent judging of the contest was provided by Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism. MRE extends its great appreciation to this year’s panel of judges for their commitment to the profession and helping to uphold the best in journalistic principles and ethics. The competition’s judges included: Ellen Shearer, Professor Emerita, formerly Co-Director, National Security Journalism Initiative, and Washington Bureau Chief; Elizabeth Shogren, Associate Professor / Leader of the Masters of Science in Journalism Politics, Policy and Foreign Affairs specialization; Matthew Orr, Associate Professor, Leader of Medill on the Hill program; Bob Rowley, Senior Lecturer / Director of Medill Illinois News Bureau; and Ivan Meyers, Senior Lecturer / Director of Operations for Medill Washington.
Winners will be honored and presented their awards at a ceremony during the 2024 MRE Conference on Friday, Oct. 25 at 5 p.m. at the Medill School of Journalism’s Washington Newsroom, 1301 K Street, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20005. Military Reporters & Editors’ 2024 MRE Conference registration and details will be available soon. You may sign-up to be notified when registration opens for the conference now.
2024 MRE Journalism Contest Winners List
The Joseph L. Galloway Award for Distinguished Journalism
Blake Ellis and Melanie Hicken from CNN – A series of articles on the U.S. Coast Guard sexual misconduct.
The James Crawley Award
Steve Beynon of Military.com – “The Army Suddenly, and Chaotically, Told Hundreds of Soldiers They Have to Be Recruiters Immediately”.
Print/Digital Media category winners:
Best Breaking News Reporting / Deadline
James LaPorta for Rolling Stone – “President Biden Makes Surprise Visit to Ukraine”.
Best Commentary | Opinion Writing
Sean Carberry of National Defense – A series of articles on defense spending.
Best Enterprise Writing / Non-Deadline (Division 1)
Joaquin Sapien for ProPublica – “The Inside Story of How the Navy Spent Billions on the ‘Little Crappy Ship’”.
- Honorable Mention: Gabriel Pietrorazio for Civil Eats – “Food Insecurity Is Common in the US Military. Will Congress Vote to Expand Benefits?”
Best Enterprise Writing / Non-Deadline (Division 2)
Rose Thayer for Stars and Stripes – “They ‘broke her’: Family files wrongful death claim against Air Force, alleging academy failed to follow sex assault, suicide policies”.
Best Enterprise Writing / Non-Deadline (Division 3)
Mallory Shelbourne for USNI News – “Another Summer in the South China Sea: A Guided Tour of the World’s Most Contested Waters”.
- Honorable Mention: Dina Temple-Raston, Sean Powers, and Daryna Antoniuk of The Record by Recorded Future News and Click Here (podcast) – “Exclusive: Ukraine says joint mission with US derailed Moscow’s cyberattacks”.
- Honorable Mention: Davis Winkie and Zamone Perez of Army Times / Military Times – “How old Army admin systems mangled the names of fallen Latino soldiers”.
Best Investigative Journalism (Division 1)
Kyle Rempfer of the Washington Post – “A U.S. airman was accused of betrayal in Syria. Then the case crumbled”.
Best Investigative Journalism (Division 2)
Davis Winkie and James Barragán for Military Times and The Texas Tribune – A series of articles on the Texas Guard.
Best Investigative Journalism (Division 3)
Christina Jedra for the Honolulu Civil Beat – “Red Hill’s Fuel Director Raised An Alarm Before Pipes Leaked. The Navy Removed Her”.
- Honorable Mention: James LaPorta, Konstantin Toropin and Patricia Kime for Military.com – “Poisoned Water: How a Navy Ship Dumped Fuel and Sickened Its Own Crew”.
Broadcast Media category winners:
Best Broadcast News | Excellence in Television
Samantha Manning for WPXI-TV / Cox Media Group – A series of news reports on military housing problems.
- Honorable Mention: Sian Grzeszczyk Melbourne for Forces News, BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service) – “Exercise Diamondback: Into the Valley of Death” – A series of news reports, focused on the U.S. Army’s training site at Fort Irwin, California featuring with U.S. and U.K. forces.
Best Radio – Excellence in Broadcast Journalism
Chris Arnold and Quil Lawrence for NPR News – A series of radio reports on the VA and foreclosures on veterans.
- Honorable Mention: Tom Bowman and Graham Smith for NPR – “Taking Cover”.
Best Television Documentary
Marie Waxel for WAAY-TV – “Look Back, Don’t Stare: The Battle of Mogadishu 30 Years Later”
Mixed Media category winners:
Best in Podcast Journalism
Drew Lawrence for Military.com – “Firewatch: Col. Paris D. Davis and His Decades-Long Wait for the Medal of Honor”.
Visual Media category winners:
Best in Photojournalism
David Paone for People – “Navy Veteran”.
MRE | Military Reporters & Editors Mission
- Advance the public understanding of the military, national security, and homeland defense.
- Represent the interests of working journalists to the government and military.
- Assure journalists have access to places where the U.S. military and its allies operate.
- Provide resources, support. educational and networking opportunities for members, fostering excellence in journalism.
For more information, visit the MRE website at https://www.militaryreporters.org.
Contact: Howard Altman, news@militaryreporters.org