The nominations portal includes submission forms for both the Investigative Reporting prize and the Explanatory Reporting prize. Instructions are below:

• Submitters must create an account by clicking “new account” below the gold “Login” button. One account per person.
• Enter the name and email address you would like to use for this account.
• The portal page will refresh and an email with the subject line “Verify your new account in Goldsmith Awards” will be automatically sent to you.
• Enter the verification code into the portal.
• You will then be prompted to create a new password.
• Once you have entered your new password you’re in!
• This account is where you will log in, review criteria, and submit your nominations. You will be able to save your progress and come back to the nominations form as you work on it, if you need to.
• You may only save ONE draft nomination form for each prize (one for the Explanatory prize and one for the Investigative prize) at a time. We recommend you draft materials outside of the portal, and then enter each submission separately.
• If you have any trouble copy/pasting content into the form fields, please clear your browser’s history. Browser caching occasionally interferes with the form functionality.

Criteria and Rules

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Criteria

The annual Goldsmith Prize for Explanatory Reporting honors journalism that helps average citizens better understand the way the United States government works.

Exemplary submissions will dive into a societal or governance problem, and use a solutions-focused lens to describe how government can work most effectively and efficiently to solve that problem. They will illuminate the nitty gritty of governing – the people, systems, structures, and policies that layer together to make a government work, and, when it doesn’t, helping us understand why.

Entries from small and mid-size news publications and comparable broadcast/online outlets are encouraged. Submissions that qualify for both may be nominated for both the Goldsmith Investigative Reporting Prize and the Explanatory Reporting prize, but may only win prize money for one. The selection process and judging committees for the two prizes are separate. Both are overseen by the Shorenstein Center’s faculty director and staff.

Eligibility

• Submissions will be accepted only from the U.S. news media and publications or individuals operating under journalistic standards and ethics. Newspapers, magazines, broadcast media, radio, podcasts, and online news organizations are eligible.
• Content that has been created by a government entity, nonprofit, or other non-news institution, either for research/informational purposes or for the purpose of promoting itself or another institution, is not eligible.
• Original broadcast or publication must have occurred between January 1, 2024 – December 31, 2024. Series may be submitted as one entry, but only elements of the series that were first published during this timeframe will be considered as part of the official submission for consideration.
• If entries were produced in collaboration with another organization, the lead organization must submit the entry and list any secondary partner organizations/collaborators. NOTE: the Goldsmith Prize for Explanatory Reporting does not have a limit on the number of entries per news organization (lead or secondary) for this inaugural year.
• Books will not be accepted as submissions for this prize.

How to Apply

• The deadline for submissions for the 2025 Goldsmith Prize for Explanatory Reporting is January 9, 2025 at 11:59pm ET.
• Each submission must include a one-sentence summary of the entry, a description of how the entry explains how a government administration, service, or program works, or how a specific piece of public policy is implemented, and an overview of the solutions focus of the reporting.
• Many entries include a series of articles on a particular topic. Please limit your submission to no more than 5 installments. Any supplemental sidebars and interactive or multimedia features do not count as installments and are permitted.
• The credited authors, titles of work and all other information must be finalized and accurate at time of submission, as this information will be used in a press release if your entry is selected as a finalist.
• Any corrections or clarifications added to the story after its initial publication must be clearly identified and explained.
• Material must be submitted as a live URL and printer-friendly PDF:
  • URL: Applicants are responsible for making sure the URL works outside of their organization. If entry content is behind a paywall applicants must ensure judges are able to view it (e.g. by providing login details or creating private URL). URLs and access to them must remain active during the contest period. If entry includes multiple articles/installments, please (where possible) include URL of single landing page/index/playlist with access to all articles/installments. If selected as a finalist and/or winner, the URL will be included in promotion of the prize and the honorees.
  • PDF: Please combine all installments into a single printer-friendly PDF. Text material (newspaper, magazine, online news organizations) must be formatted in one column. Broadcast/video/audio submissions must include a PDF of the transcript. [You can find an example of a correctly formatted PDF here]
• There is no entry fee.
• Applications must be submitted online. Paper entries will not be accepted.

Prize Money

The winning entry receives $15,000. No other cash awards are given for this prize. Prize money is paid directly to credited authors, editors, producers, or other members of the team that created the winning entry, not to their organizations. Prize money can be distributed to organizations only in circumstances where documented organizational ethics rules dictate that employees cannot receive prize payments. In these cases the expectation is that the reporting team will participate in decisions about how the money is spent, and that it will go to the direct and additive benefit of the reporters and their work.