May 22, 2026
For Immediate Release
Contact: datelinecoordinator@gmail.com
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Washington, D.C., Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists has announced the finalists for its 2026 Dateline Awards, recognizing excellence in local journalism. Winners will be honored at the chapter’s annual Hall of Fame and Dateline Awards dinner at the National Press Club on Tuesday, June 9, alongside the 2026 Hall of Fame inductees and Distinguished Service Award recipients.
Tickets are still available.
The Dateline Awards celebrate outstanding journalism from across the D.C. region, including Northern Virginia and Maryland. The competition spans a range of media—online, magazine, broadcast, and more—with dozens of categories highlighting the depth and diversity of local reporting, from investigative work to photojournalism.
Dateline Awards finalists by category are as follows.
Correspondent Award
Tal Kopan, The Boston Globe, “Revealing the inner workings of Washington. “
Gabrielle Gurley, The American Prospect, “Grim Times for Washingtonians”
Ariana Figueroa, States Newsroom, “Covering the Trump administration’s mass deportations, from the nation’s capital to the states.”
Cassie Semyon, Spectrum News, “Cassie Semyon – Washington Correspondent, Spectrum News.”
All Divisions/Electronic, Blog/site
Karen Feld, Substack.com, “Karen Feld’s Capital Connections®.”
Daily Newspaper, Non-Breaking News
Staff, The Washington Post, “Coverage of D.C. police takeover.”
Ben Wolfgang, The Washington Times, “‘He lost us.'”
Kate Cimini, The Baltimore Sun, “‘I killed a soldier boy:’ The search for Army Sgt. James Lee Haynes.”
Michael Brice-Saddler, The Washington Post, “Why a dementia village in the Netherlands is fueling hope in D.C.”
Daily Newspaper, Breaking News
Ben Wolfgang, The Washington Times, “Trump fires Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman C.Q. Brown, chief of naval operations also out.”
Daily Newspaper, Features
Jonathan M. Pitts, The Baltimore Sun, “Ten years after Freddie Gray’s death, Sandtown-Winchester residents say change remains elusive.”
Jasmine Golden, The Washington Post, “700 times, boy with autism ran from class. He wandered one final time from home.”
Lenore Adkins, The Washington Post, “Tasting menus and expletives: When fine dining meets hip-hop.”
Jonathan M. Pitts, The Baltimore Sun, “Secrets beneath the Chesapeake Bay: 8,000 shipwrecks and lost treasures.”
Daily Newspaper, Sports
Karina Elwood, The Washington Post, “A trans girl was banned from her track team. Now she’s competing with the boys.”
Liam Griffin, The Washington Times, “Ovechkin scores 895th goal, passes Gretzky for most all-time; Mascots stake claim as team staples; Commanders, D.C. mayor announce $3.7 billion stadium deal; Big guts, bigger smiles: Taco Bell 50k draws hundreds; High-stakes gamble.”
Daily Newspaper, Business
Jeff Mordock, The Washington Times, “American board game industry fears devastation; Rampant ‘shrimp fraud’ deals another blow; China-linked company wants U.S. land.”
Tom Howell Jr., The Washington Times, “Coffee industry braces for impact of Brazil tariffs; Chinese trade fight puts spotlight on rare earth elements; Into the woods.”
Daniel de Visé, Veronica Bravo, USA TODAY, “Making Finance Personal.”
Daily Newspaper, Investigative Journalism
Kate Cimini, The Baltimore Sun, “Maryland handgun board.”
Steve Thompson, The Washington Post, “Investigating D.C.’s affordable housing projects.”
Kate Cimini, The Baltimore Sun, “National Guard Freestate Challenge Academy.”
Daily Newspaper, Art/Photo Illustration
Alexander Hunter, The Washington Times, “Dealing with nuclear proliferation; Emboldened Vladimir Putin; American solar manufacturing.”
Daily Newspaper, Front-Page Design
John Bourantas, The Washington Times, “Trump vows ‘Golden Age’; Deadliest air accident since 2001; World on high alert.”
Daily Newspaper, Column
Thom Loverro, The Washington Times, “Commanders’ dance for new stadium at RFK site takes its first steps; The banishment of Pete Rose was about deterrence, and good luck with that now; NBA is going to need buckets of detergent to wash this stain out.”
Clifford May, The Washington Times, “No more appeasement; The long U.N. war against Israel; America needs energy dominance.”
Michael McKenna, The Washington Times, “Pope Leo XIV’s surprise election; They died for freedom, not federal control; Due process protections matter.”
Joseph Curl, The Washington Times, “True politician Marjorie Taylor Greene takes the money and runs; Democrats have nothing but losing ideas going into 2026 midterms; Trump wounds MAGA brand with inhuman rant on Rob Reiner.”
Daily Newspaper, Series
Amanda Athanasoiu, Lauren Loricchio, Tax Notes, “Faults in FOIA.”
Ruben Castaneda, The Baltimore Sun, “‘I hate myself; I’ve got to get out of here’: Life seeking drugs in Penn North.”
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY, “RFK Jr.’s MAHA movement is coming to a state near you.”
Daily Newspaper, Beat Reporting
Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, “White House legal challenges.”
Dan Morse, The Washington Post, “D.C.-area crime coverage.”
Miranda Willson, POLITICO’s E&E News, “Clean water wars in Trump’s first year.”
Staff, The Washington Post, “How RFK Jr. Upended Public Health.”
Weekly Newspaper, Non-Breaking News
Lou Chibbaro, Jr., Washington Blade, “In D.C., LGBTQ homelessness on the rise despite overall decline.”
Franziska Wild, Sachini Adikari, Street Sense Media, “D.C. closes last shelters for homeless migrants.”
Zoe Bell, Washington Jewish Week, “Eisenhower’s Great-Grandson Meets Holocaust Survivor Saved as Infant.”
Michael Lavers, Washington Blade, “Trump executive orders leave LGBTQ migrants, asylum seekers in limbo.”
Weekly Newspaper, Breaking News
Franziska Wild, Madi Koesler, Street Sense Team , Street Sense Media, “Federal encampment closures live blog.”
Weekly Newspaper, Features
Zoe Bell, Washington Jewish Week, “Rabbi Levi Shemtov: The ‘Rabbi of Capitol Hill’ Puts Unity in Community.”
Joe Reberkenny, Washington Blade, “Queer defiance, footlong in hand: the rise of ‘Sandwich Guy.’”
Judy Kurtz, Amie Parnes, The Hill, “East Wing demolition triggers outcry — and mixed feelings from state dinner attendees.”
Joe Reberkenny, Washington Blade, “Queer defiance, footlong in hand: the rise of ‘Sandwich Guy.’”
Weekly Newspaper, Editorial/Opinion Writing
Editorial Board ,Washington Jewish Week, “Washington Jewish Week House Editorials.”
Wendell Williams, Street Sense Media, “Let no man write my epitaph.”
Michael Lavers, Washington Blade, “Vacationing abroad with an embarrassment in the White House / July 31.”
Weekly Newspaper, Business
Aaron Troodler, Washington Jewish Week, “For David Rubenstein, Success Is Serendipitous.”
Weekly Newspaper, Photojournalism
Michael Key, Washington Blade, “WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert.”
Madi Koesler, Street Sense Media, “Scenes from D.C. encampments this spring.”
Weekly Newspaper, Feature Photography
Michael Key, Washington Blade, “Photo of protest outside D.C. Attorney General’s office.”
Weekly Newspaper, Photography Story
Michael Key, Washington Blade, “‘Trump Must Go Now’ march to the White House.”
Weekly Newspaper, Front-Page Design
Kevin Akakpo, Street Sense Media, “Street Sense covers.”
Weekly Newspaper, Column
David J. Butler, Washington Jewish Week, “David J. Butler.”
Weekly Newspaper, Series
Franziska Wild, Alaena Hunt, Shani Laskin, Street Sense Media, “Profiles of D.C.’s encampment residents.”
Zoe Bell, Mia Resnicow, Washington Jewish Week, “Antisemitism in Northern Virginia Schools.”
Weekly Newspaper, Beat Reporting
Franziska Wild, Madi Koesler, Street Sense Team, Street Sense Media, “’We’re just trying to live:’ Trump administration’s impact on homelessness in D.C.”
Magazine, Non-Breaking News
Nathan Guttman, Moment Magazine, “Getting to Know Trump’s Middle East Team.”
Dave Levinthal, Washingtonian Magazine, “Meet the lobbyist fighting against ‘perfetly legal’ corruption in D.C.”
Magazine, Features
Eliza Tebo, Jenny Sullivan, Greg Hamilton, Arlington Magazine, “Without a Net.”
Wendy Kantor, Jenny Sullivan, Greg Hamilton, Arlington Magazine, “Patient and Kind.”
Tamara Lytle, Jenny Sullivan, Greg Hamilton, Arlington Magazine, “Behind the Ivy Tower.”
Magazine, Investigative Journalism
Luke O’Brien, Mother Jones, “Clear and Present Danger.”
Television, Non-Breaking News
ABC News, ABC News, “This Week with George Stephanopoulos and ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis: Highballed Real Estate.”
ABC News, ABC News, “Nightline: Protecting America’s Coal Miners.”
Steven Goodman, László Stündl, Safwan Mohammed, UDC-TV, “Higher Education Today – Precision Agriculture.”
ABC News, ABC News, “ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis – High Stakes at the Supreme Court: Conversion Therapy.”
Television, Breaking News
ABC News, ABC News, “ABC News: Crash Over the Potomac.”
Television, Features
Staff , WRC-TV, “The Turf War.”
Diane Roberts, Daryl Brown, Saundra Young, Hearst/Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien, “Leaving a Legacy: Financial Literacy in Black Families.”
ABC News, ABC News, “ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis: The Choir Room.”
ABC News, ABC News, “ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis: Kasey’s Fight.”
Television, Sports
Scott Taylor, Jacob Fisher, WJLA TV 7 NEWS, “When A High School Baseball Game Turns Dangerous.”
Television, Business
Scott Taylor, Jacob Fisher, WJLA TV 7 NEWS, “Where’s My Baby’s Ashes?”
Angie Moreschi, Nathan Aaron, The National News Desk, “Home Insurance Crisis.”
Television, Investigative Journalism
Scott Taylor, Jacob Fisher, Kimmi Fleming, WJLA TV 7 NEWS, “Exposed: DC Mayor’s Secret $105K Middle East Trip.”
ABC News, ABC News, “ABC News Investigates – Web of Danger: Inside the ‘764’ Network.”
Staff, WRC-TV, “Missing Money.”
Television, Series
Angie Moreschi, Nathan Aaron, The National News Desk, “Exposing Secrets of the Dark Web.”
Staff, WRC-TV, “Vetting AI.”
Scott Taylor, Jacob Fisher, WJLA TV 7 NEWS, “7 News Saves 36 Miles of Trees Along Historic Trail.”
Television, Beat Reporting
ABC News, ABC News, “ABC News White House Coverage.”
Angie Moreschi, Nathan Aaron, Jed Gamber, The National News Desk, “Escape from Human Trafficking.”
ABC News, ABC News, “ABC News Coverage of Capitol Hill.”
Radio, Non-Breaking News
Nancy Marshall Genzer, Marketplace, “How federal layoffs have affected one family, six months on.”
John Lee, Baltimore Public Media, “The attempt to fire Baltimore County’s inspector general.”
ABC News, ABC News, “Start Here: Bitcoin ATM Scams.”
Radio, Features
Matt Blitz, WAMU 88.5, “How author F. Scott Fitzgerald ended up being buried twice in suburban Maryland.”
Wambui Kamau, Baltimore Public Media, “Kenyan cookout in Baltimore County draws crowd amid U.S. immigration fears.”
John Lee, Baltimore Public Media, “Oh “gnome” he didn’t! A walk to Baltimore County’s Gnome Hill.”
Jackson Sinnenberg, WAMU 88.5 , “Adams Morgan’s Smash Records celebrates 40 years of being a communal hub for the D.C. punk scene.”
Radio, Beat Reporting
John Lee, Baltimore Public Media, “Beat reporting-Covering Baltimore County.”
Newsletter/Trade Publication, Non-Breaking News
Erin Durkin, Jon Meltzer, Bloomberg Industry Group, “Drug Deaths Plunged. Trump Wants to Cut Funds Cited for the Drop.”
Alex Wolf, Bloomberg Industry Group, “Boy Scout Settlement Delays Extend ‘Nightmare’ for Abuse Victims.”
Michael Bologna, Laura Mahoney, Bloomberg Industry Group, “Got Montana Plates? States Ramp Up the Scrutiny on Tax Dodgers.”
Josh Moody, Inside Higher Ed, “How Sweet Briar College Defied the Odds of Closure.”
Newsletter/Trade Publication, Breaking News
Jacquelyn Cobb, The Cancer Letter, “DOD cancer research programs face 57% funding cut in year-long continuing resolution.”
Allyson Park, National Defense Magazine, “PARIS AIR SHOW NEWS: French Government Boards Up Israeli Booths at Paris Air Show.”
Paul Goldberg, The Cancer Letter, “GOP-led Congress rejects Trump’s plans to gut medical research.”
Newsletter/Trade Publication, Features
Claire Marie Porter, The Cancer Letter, “Only half of adolescents and young adults with cancer get fertility counseling before treatment.”
Jeremy Conrad, Washington Lawyer, “The Dollars & Sense Behind Ending Involuntary Servitude.”
Holly Barker, Alexia Fernandez-Campbell , Bloomberg Industry Group, “Gambling With the Law: How SCOTUSblog’s Goldstein Risked All.”
Jacquelyn Cobb, The Cancer Letter, “She flew Black Hawks and battled cancer—now Col. Susan Fondy grapples with cuts to lymphedema research.”
Newsletter/Trade Publication, Editorial/Opinion Writing
Gabrielle Redford, Patrick Boyle, Bridget Balch, Association of American Medical Colleges, “AAMC Special Reports: The Impact of Federal Funding Cuts on Academic Medicine.”
Newsletter/Trade Publication, Business
Emily Wishingrad, Bisnow, “Emily Wishingrad’s commercial real estate coverage.”
Andrew Kreighbaum, Bloomberg Industry Group, “Andrew Kreighbaum’s outstanding coverage of immigration.”
Jon Banister, Bisnow, “Jon Banister’s commercial real estate coverage.”
Josh Moody, Inside Higher Ed, “Universities Battle Over Brands.”
Newsletter/Trade Publication, Investigative Journalism
Jacquelyn Cobb, Katie Goldberg, The Cancer Letter, ““Page Not Found:” HHS agencies purge web pages that hint at DEI, health equity, and gender.”
Josh Moody, Kathryn Palmer, Inside Higher Ed, “Inside a Network of Fake College Websites.”
John Murph, Washington Lawyer, “Ivy City: A Case Study for Environmental Justice.”
Newsletter/Trade Publication, Commentary & Criticism
Eric Dodson Greenberg, Bloomberg Industry Group, “GC x AI: AI in the Legal Industry.”
Alexandra Bowman, DC Theater Arts, “Reviews and Commentary for DC Theater Arts.”
Newsletter/Trade Publication, Art/Photo Illustration
Jonathan Hurtarte, Bloomberg Industry Group, “Billion-Dollar Tax Break Poised to Fuel Spaceport Development.”
Jonathan Hurtarte, Bloomberg Industry Group, “Gambling With the Law: How SCOTUSblog’s Goldstein Risked All.”
Newsletter/Trade Publication, Infographic
Jonathan Hurtarte, Bloomberg Industry Group, “Strip Searches in Schools Traumatize Kids Over Minor Offenses.”
Newsletter/Trade Publication, Front-Page Design
Brian Taylor, National Defense Magazine, “2025 National Defense Covers.”
Newsletter/Trade Publication, Column
Josh Luckenbaugh, National Defense Magazine, “Algorithmic Warfare.”
Newsletter/Trade Publication, Series
Staff, National Defense Magazine, “April 2025 Shipbuilding Package.”
Matthew Schwartz, Josh Block, Bloomberg Industry Group, “The Rise and Fall of Agency Power: From Chevron Deference to Loper Bright.”
Paul Goldberg, The Cancer Letter, “After 25 years as FDA’s chief cancer strategist, Richard Pazdur reflects on opportunities for change at the agency.”
Claire Marie Porter, Jacquelyn Cobb; The Cancer Letter, “How animal testing became a MAHA political wedge issue.”
Newsletter/Trade Publication, Editorial Cartoon
Alexandra Bowman, Counterpoint, “Editorial Cartoons for Counterpoint in 2025.”
Newsletter/Trade Publication, Beat Reporting
Josh Moody, Inside Higher Ed, “Josh Moody — beat reporting.”
Kaustuv Basu, Bloomberg Industry Group, “AI Brings Changes to the Workplace and Beyond.”
Suzanne Smalley, Recorded Future News, “The impact of AI, surveillance tools and biotech on digital privacy.”
Emily Wishingrad, Bisnow, “Emily Wishingrad’s federal real estate beat.”
Online, Non-Breaking News
Dan McCue, The Well News, “Coverage of tariff debate before Supreme Court.”
Staff, The Washington Post, “Climate change is coming for D.C.’s trees, and the city won’t look the same.”
Emily Kennard, Margaret Manto, NOTUS, “The MAHA Report Cites Studies That Don’t Exist.”
Reuters Staff , Reuters, “The Revenge of Donald Trump.”
Online, Breaking News
Danielle J. Brown, Maryland Matters, “Delegates share vulnerable, personal stories during debate on health education bill.”
Bryan P. Sears, Maryland Matters, “Peña-Melnyk elected unanimously as House speaker, making history in the process.”
William J. Ford, Maryland Matters, “Justices appear to favor Montgomery County parents opposed to LGBTQ-themed books.”
Bloomberg Staff, Bloomberg News, “US Seizes Oil Tanker Off the Coast of Venezuela.”
Online, Features
Brittany Shammas, The Washington Post, “A group of us ditched our smartphones for a month. It changed us.”
Christine Condon, Maryland Matters, “Fish fry: Maryland uses electrofishing to glimpse blue catfish invasion.”
Sam Delgado, The 51st, “Mount Pleasant’s sidewalk astronomer might have to leave his home.”
Kaela Roeder, Technical.ly, “Despite Trump’s actions and rhetoric, Ukrainian tech workers are laying stakes in the US.”
Online, Editorial/Opinion Writing
Josh Kurtz, Maryland Matters, “What Melissa Hortman means to Maryland.”
Celia Wexler, The New York Daily News, “How Catholic Bishops Fail Their Country.”
Nicole Hertvik, DC Theater Arts, “To Kennedy Center or not to Kennedy Center? For D.C. audiences, that is now the question”
Brian Karem, Salon.com, “Brian Karem’s weekly Washington column.”
Online, Business
Dina Temple-Raston, Sean Powers, Karen Duffin; Recorded Future News, “North Korea’s secret army of hackers.”
Christine Condon, Maryland Matters, “Despite efforts by lawmakers, energy bills are going up again. Here’s why.”
Marissa J. Lang, John D. Harden; The Washington Post, “The house color that tells you when a neighborhood is gentrifying.”
Jonathan Lehrfeld, CoStar News, “How Amazon’s HQ2 transformed a neighborhood, even after tech giant paused its own plans.”
Online, Photojournalism
William Ford, Maryland Matters, “A hug for reparations.”
Danielle J. Brown, Maryland Matters, “Making a patriotic stand for No Kings.”
James Mae, James Mae LLC Tradename Starlight Productions, “The Art of Resistance in D.C.”
Online, Investigative Journalism
Mackenzie Mays, Jon Schuppe, Bloomberg Industry Group & NBC News, “Jailed and Pregnant.”
Corbin Hiar, Karl Mathiesen, POLITICO, “The risky rise of solar geoengineering.”
Reuters Staff, Reuters, “The Revenge of Donald Trump.”
Nick Schwellenbach, René Kladzyk, Luisa Clausen, Project On Government Oversight; POGO Investigates, “Profiting from Trump’s Immigration Crackdown.”
Online, Commentary & Criticism
Alyssa Rosenberg, NOTUS, “The Washington Post Got 21,000 Emails After It Didn’t Endorse. I Read Them All.”
Online, Column
Dave Levinthal, Columbia Journalism Review, “ICE May Be Breaking the Law to Stonewall Reporters.”
Kirk Bado, , “Kirk Bado’s Columns.”
Sophia Tesfaye, Salon.com, “Media Columns by Sophia Tesfaye.”
Mary C. Curtis, Roll Call, “A collection of columns by Mary C. Curtis.”
Online, Series
Kaela Roeder, Technical.ly, “What to know about work visas under Trump’s new rules.”
Brandon Tensley, Capital B, “Federal Overhaul.”
River Zhang, The Associated Press, “Inside the Trump administration’s impact on Washington: reporting in social video.”
Online, Beat Reporting
Kevin Bogardus, E&E News, “Inside the Trump 2.0 dismantling of EPA.”
Ryan Tarinelli, Roll Call, “Reporting on DOJ restructuring.”
Hannah Northey, Heather Richards, Sean Reilly, Danny Nguyen; POLITICO, “Watchdogging DOGE: Inside Trump’s dismantling of the federal government.”
Jory Heckman, Federal News Network, “The state of the IRS workforce.”
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