Criteria and Rules

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Criteria

The annual Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting honors investigative reporting that best promotes more effective and ethical conduct of government, the making of public policy, or the practice of politics.

While the subject can address issues of foreign policy, a submission qualifies only if it has an impact on public policy in the United States at the national, regional or local level.

Eligibility 

• Submissions will be accepted only from the U.S. news media. Newspapers, magazines, broadcast media, radio, podcasts, and online news organization are all eligible. 
• Documentary films may be submitted for consideration if they have had public distribution (in theaters, online, through streaming platforms, on television, or through other publicly-accessible distribution channels) in the United States during the eligibility window. Films that have only been shown in film festivals, or which are not available to watch within the United States, will not be considered.
• Original broadcast or publication must have occurred between January 1, 2025 – December 31, 2025. 
• No more than two entries may be submitted by a news organization. If entries were produced in collaboration with another news organization, the lead news organization must submit the entry and list any secondary partner organizations/collaborators. If your organization is listed as a secondary partner/collaborator in an entry submitted by another news organization this does not count towards your two allowed entries. 
• Books will not be accepted as submissions for this prize. Please consider submitting your eligible book to the Goldsmith Book Prize.

Prize Money

The winning entry receives $25,000, and five finalist entries receive $10,000 each. Prize money is paid directly to credited authors of the winning/nominated entries, not their organizations.