The Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting is an award for journalists administered by the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. The program was launched in 1991, with the goal of exposing examples of poor government, and encouraging good government in the United States. There is a $25,000 award for the winner.
The Goldsmith Awards Program is financially supported by an annual grant from the Greenfield Foundation.
Awardees YearWinner(s)Publication / OutletWork2026Hannah DreierThe New York Times“Exposed and Expendable”2025Katey Rusch and Casey SmithThe San Francisco Chronicle and the UC Berkeley Investigative Reporting Program"Right to Remain Secret"2024Hannah DreierThe New York Times"Alone and Exploited"2023Anna WolfeMississippi Today"The Backchannel"2022Hannah Dreier and Andrew Ba TranThe Washington Post"Fema Disasters"2021Joseph Neff, Alysia Santo, Anna Wolfe, and Michelle LiuThe Marshall Project, Mississippi Today, Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting, Jackson Clarion-Ledger, USA Today"Mississippi's Dangerous and Dysfunctional Penal System."2020Staffs of the listed publicationsThe Arizona Republic, USA Today, and the Center for Public Integrity"Copy. Paste. Legislate"2019J. David McShane and Andrew ChavezThe Dallas Morning News"Pain and Profit"2018Nina Martin and Renee MontagneProPublica and NPR"Lost Mothers"2017Shane BauerMother Jones"My Four Months as a Private Prison Guard"2016Margie Mason, Robin McDowell, Martha Mendoza, and Esther HtusanThe Associated Press"Seafood from Slaves"2015Carol Marbin Miller, Audra Burch, Mary Ellen Klas, Emily Michot, Kara Dapena and Lazaro GamioMiami Herald"Innocents Lost"2014Chris Hamby, Ronnie Greene, Jim Morris and Chris Zubak-Skees (Center for Public Integrity); Matthew Mosk, Brian Ross and Rhonda Schwartz (ABC News)Center for Public Integrity and ABC News"Breathless and Burdened: Dying from Black Lung, Buried by Law and Medicine"2013Patricia Callahan, Sam Roe and Michael HawthorneChicago Tribune"Playing with Fire"2012Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Eileen Sullivan and Chris HawleyAssociated Press"NYPD Intelligence Division"2011Marshall Allen and Alex RichardsLas Vegas Sun"Do No Harm: Hospital Care in Las Vegas"2010Raquel RutledgeMilwaukee Journal Sentinel"Cashing In on Kids"2009Debbie Cenziper and Sarah CohenThe Washington Post"Forced Out"2008Barton Gellman and Jo BeckerThe Washington Post"Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency"2007Charles Forelle, James Bandler and Mark MaremontThe Wall Street JournalStock manipulation series2006James Risen and Eric LichtblauThe New York Times"Domestic Spying"2005Diana B. HenriquesThe New York Times"Captive Clientele"2004David Barstow, Lowell Bergman, and David RummelThe New York Times and Frontline"Dangerous Business: When Workers Die"2003Staff of the publicationBoston Globe"Crisis in the Catholic Church"2002Duff Wilson and David HeathThe Seattle Times2001Karen DillonKansas City Star"To Protect and Defend"2000Donald Barlett and James SteeleTime"What Corporate Welfare Costs"1999A team of reportersThe Miami Herald"Dirty Votes: The Race for Miami Mayor"1998Duff WilsonThe Seattle Times"Fear in the Fields — How Hazardous Wastes Become Fertilizer"Michael Duffy, Michael Weisskopf, and Viveca NovakTime"Abuse of Campaign Finance Laws"1997Glenn Bunting, Rich Connell, Maggie Farley, Sara Fritz, Evelyn Iritani, Connie Kang, Jim Mann, Alan Miller, and Rone TempestLos Angeles Times"Illegal Democratic Campaign Contributions"1996Russell Carollo, Carol Hernandez, Jeff Nesmith, and Cheryl ReedThe Dayton Daily News"Military Secrets" and "Prisoners on Payroll"1995Lizette Alvarez and Lisa GetterThe Miami Herald"Lost in America: Our Failed Immigration Policy"1994Neill Borowski and Gilbert GaulThe Philadelphia Inquirer"Warehouses of Wealth: The Tax-Free Economy"1993Douglas Frantz and Murray WaasLos Angeles TimesPolicies prior to the Gulf War series
Nominees