Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting

Political Reporting Prize in the United States

The Robin Toner Program in Political Reporting

Formation| 2009
Purpose| Created to celebrate the life and work of Syracuse University alumna Robin Toner, the late political correspondent for The New York Times

Main organ

| Syracuse University
Website| tonerprogram.syr.edu

The Robin Toner Program in Political Reporting was established in 2009 to celebrate the life and work of Robin Toner, the late New York Times political correspondent.[1] It is awarded by the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications of Syracuse University.

The program includes the annual Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting and Toner Prize Celebration. The award, which includes $5,000, is presented at an annual ceremony that features a distinguished speaker. In 2016, then-President Barack Obama delivered the keynote address.

Entries are judged on how well they reflect the high standards and depth of reporting that marked Toner's work. In particular, the judges look for how well the entries:

* illuminate the electoral process 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.[1]

## Toner Prize recipients

[edit]

Year  | Recipient  | News Organization(s)  | Description of Entry

|
|
|

2011  | Craig Harris  | Arizona Republic | for an 8-part series on Arizona's broken and expensive public pension plan.[2]
2012  | Jane Mayer | The New Yorker | for an in-depth look, titled State for Sale, at the effects on North Carolina of Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission.[3]
2013  | Molly Ball | The Atlantic | for her in-depth reporting on the 2012 election.[4]
2014  | Karen Tumulty | The Washington Post | for her reporting on politicians, such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, as well as her in-depth look at the political landscape in West Virginia.[5][6]
2015  | Dan Balz | The Washington Post | for a series of political profiles that illuminated the partisan divide in Washington.[7][8][9]
2016  | Alec MacGillis  | ProPublica | for a collection of stories on issues in politics and governance.[10]
2017  | David Fahrenthold | The Washington Post | for “A Portrait of Donald Trump,” a series of articles highlighting his yearlong reporting on Trump.[11]
2018  | Team from The Washington Post | The Washington Post | for its coverage of candidate Roy Moore and the 2017 Alabama Senate race, which uncovered a pattern of sexual misconduct by Moore.[12][13]
2019  | Jason Zengerle  | The New York Times Magazine,GQ | for his reporting on the effects of Trump presidency on the House Intelligence Committee.[14]
2020  | Team from The Boston Globe | The Boston Globe | for the 2019 Back to the Battleground series in which the eight-member team of Globe reporters covered four key battleground states that helped decide the 2016 presidential election.[15]
2021  | David A. Graham  | The Atlantic | for coverage of the 2020 presidential election, focusing particularly on undecided voters in swing states and election integrity.[16]
2022  | (National) Team from The Washington Post
(Local) David Wickert, Mark Niesse, Greg Bluestein, Maya T. Prabhu, Tia Mitchell, Isaac Sabetai and Jim Galloway.  | The Washington Post
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | for "The Attack", an investigation into what happened before, during and after the 2021 United States Capitol attack.[17]
for "Inside the Campaign to Undermine Georgia’s Election"[18][19]
2023  | (National) Josh Gerstein, Alex Ward, Peter Canellos, Hailey Fuchs, Heidi Przybyla, Elena Schneider and Holly Otterbein
(Local) Phil Williams  | Politico
WTVF Nashville | for "The Supreme Court and Abortion", reporting that leaked the draft of U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.
for "Revealed” investigation; efforts to look into how laws are made in the supermajority ruled Tennessee General Assembly.
2024  | (National) Greg Jaffe and Patrick Marley
(Local) Anna Orso, Sean Walsh, Julia Terruso, Aseem Shukla and Layla Jones  | The Washington Post
Philadelphia Inquirer | "Ottawa County"
"The race for Philadelphia’s 100th mayor"[20][21]
2025  | (National) Reporters: Peter Eisler, Ned Parker, Aram Roston and Joseph Tanfani
(Local) Spencer Kent and Riley Yates  | Reuters
NJ Advance Media | "The Politics of Menace"[22]
"Project Extreme"[23][24]

## Toner Prize Celebration speakers

[edit]

Year  | Format  | Speaker(s)

|
|

2009  | Panel  | Gwen Ifill (PBS), Richard Berke (The New York Times), Dan Balz (The Washington Post), Jackie Calmes (The New York Times), Beth Frerking (Politico), and Adam Nagourney (The New York Times)[25]
2011  | Conversation  | Marilyn Werber Serafini (Kaiser Health News)
2012  | Panel  | Jane Mayer (The New Yorker), Peggy Simpson (Women’s Media Center), Lynette Clemetson (NPR),

and Kristin Carlson (WCAX-TV)[25]

2013  | Keynote  | Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services[26]
2014  | Keynote  | Joe Biden, Vice President of the United States[27]
2015  | Keynote  | Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State[8][9]
2016  | Keynote  | Barack Obama, President of the United States[28][29]
2017  | Keynote  | John Kasich, Governor of Ohio[30]
2018  | Keynote  | Mark Warner, U.S. Senator from Virginia[12]
2019  | Keynote  | Larry Hogan, Governor of Maryland[31]
2020  | \-  | No ceremony due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021  | Keynote  | Cory Booker, U.S. Senator from New Jersey[32]
2022  | Keynote  | Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives[33]
2023  | Keynote  | Mitt Romney, U.S. Senator from Utah[34]
2024  | Keynote  | Roy Cooper, Governor of North Carolina[20]
2025  | Conversation  | Maribel Perez Wadsworth & Boris Sanchez

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Toner Prize: The Robin Toner Program in Political Reporting". Retrieved 2019-05-24.
2. ^ "Newhouse School awards first Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting". Newhouse School - Syracuse University. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
3. ^ "State for Sale". The New Yorker.
4. ^ "The Atlantic's Molly Ball is the winner of the Newhouse School's 2012 Toner Prize | Newhouse School - Syracuse University". Newhouse School. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
5. ^ "Karen Tumulty awarded prize for political reporting". 25 March 2014.
6. ^ "Toner Prize goes to Karen Tumulty of The Washington Post - Newhouse School - Syracuse University". Newhouse School. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
7. ^ Barr, Cameron (March 24, 2015). "Dan Balz wins Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting". Washington Post (Press release). Retrieved 10 March 2021.
8. ^ a b Ifill, Gwen (26 March 2015). "Getting On With It". PBS. Archived from the original on March 30, 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
9. ^ a b Kennedy, Brigid (28 January 2015). "Clinton to speak at award celebration, chosen for personal connection with reporter". The Daily Orange. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
10. ^ "Toner Prize Goes to Alec MacGillis of ProPublica". tonerprogram.syr.edu. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
11. ^ Loughlin, Wendy S. (2017-03-27). "David Fahrenthold of The Washington Post honored with Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting". Newhouse School. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
12. ^ a b Weiner, Mark (27 March 2018). "Mark Warner at Syracuse event: Trump should stop delegitimizing American journalism". The Post-Standard. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
13. ^ "Washington Post honored with Toner Prize for Political Reporting". Newhouse School: Syracuse University. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
14. ^ "Jason Zengerle is the winner of the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting". Newhouse School | Syracuse University. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
15. ^ Sweeney, Emily (April 1, 2020). "Boston Globe wins Toner Prize for Excellence in National Political Reporting". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
16. ^ "Newhouse announces winners in 2021 Toner Prizes competition". Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
17. ^ "The Washington Post wins Toner Prize for National Political Reporting for "The Attack"". Washington Post. 29 March 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
18. ^ McCaffrey, Shannon (29 March 2022). "Atlanta Journal-Constitution awarded Toner Prize for political reporting". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
19. ^ Miller, Brittany (16 November 2022). "Toner-winning reporters reflect on Election Day coverages that won them awards". The Daily Orange. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
20. ^ a b Weiner, Mark (26 March 2024). "NC Gov. Roy Cooper asks journalists at SU event to dig deeper into extreme politics". syracuse.com. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
21. ^ Armas, Genaro C. (March 25, 2024). "Winners of 2024 Toner Prizes for Excellence in Political Reporting Announced by Newhouse School". Newhouse School at Syracuse University (Press release). Retrieved 11 July 2025.
22. ^ "Reuters wins Toner Prize for reports on intimidation of Trump's opponents". Reuters. March 6, 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
23. ^ Armas, Genaro C. (March 10, 2025). "Reuters, NJ Advance Media Win 2025 Toner Prizes for Excellence in Political Reporting". Syracuse University News (Press release). Retrieved 11 July 2025.
24. ^ "NJ Advance Media wins one of nation's top journalism prizes for 'Project Extreme'". NJ Advance Media. 6 March 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
25. ^ a b "Toner Prize Celebration | The Robin Toner Program in Political Reporting". Retrieved 2019-05-23.
26. ^ Weiner, Mark (28 March 2013). "A big night in DC for Syracuse University alums". syracuse.com. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
27. ^ Weiner, Mark (March 24, 2014). "VP Joe Biden delivers keynote speech tonight at Syracuse University dinner in Washington". syracuse.com. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
28. ^ Obama, Barack (28 March 2016). Remarks by the President at the 2016 Toner Prize Ceremony (Speech). Toner Prize Ceremony. Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, Washington, D.C.: White House Office of the Press Secretary. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
29. ^ Torrens, Alexa (29 March 2016). "How President Barack Obama was named to speak on behalf of late political reporter Robin Toner". The Daily Orange. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
30. ^ Sugiyama, Satoshi (20 February 2017). "Ohio Gov. John Kasich to deliver keynote speech at Newhouse-sponsored Toner Prize Celebration". The Daily Orange. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
31. ^ Burke, Michael (25 March 2019). "GOP governor criticizes Trump's 'dangerous rhetoric' about the media". The Hill. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
32. ^ Loughlin, Wendy S. (March 9, 2021). "Sen. Cory Booker to Offer Keynote Remarks for Virtual Toner Prizes Celebration March 26". SU News. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
33. ^ Tang, Francis (28 March 2022). "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks at Newhouse's 12th annual Toner Awards". The Daily Orange. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
34. ^ Loughlin, Wendy S. (28 February 2023). "Sen. Mitt Romney to Keynote Newhouse School's Toner Prizes Celebration March 27 in Washington". Syracuse University News. Retrieved 28 February 2023.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website