Winners will be announced on Saturday, March 22 at FOIA Fest
The Chicago Headline Club is thrilled to announce the finalists for its inaugural A-Mark Prize for Dogged Reporting and its annual Watchdog Award for Public Interest.
The A-Mark Prize for Dogged reporting award will honor one or more reporters who overcame significant challenges in order to reach publication, such as FOIA legal battles, reticent public officials or other institutional barriers. First, second and third place winners, and their outlets, will receive a cash prize.
And each year, the Chicago Headline Club’s Watchdog Award presents a cash prize to Chicago-area journalists for enterprising journalism that defends and protects everyday folks.
The winners for both awards will be announced at FOIA Fest on Saturday, March 22 during the closing happy hour.
A-Mark Prize for Dogged Reporting 2025 Finalists
- Reema Amin and Mina Bloom; Chalkbeat Chicago and Block Club Chicago; “Lost In Translation: Migrant Kids Struggle In Segregated Chicago Schools”
- Madison Hopkins and Joe Mahr; Illinois Answers Project and Chicago Tribune; “Many cameras. Little focus. Blurry results.”
- Lisa Schencker and Emily Hoerner; Chicago Tribune; “Medical Misconduct”
Watchdog Award for Public Interest 2025 Finalists
- Frank Main, Elvia Malagón and Erica Thompson; Chicago Sun-Times; “Heroin’s Invisible Toll”
- Lisa Schencker, Emily Hoerner and Stacey Wescott; Chicago Tribune; “Medical Misconduct”
- Grace Hauck and Meredith Newman; Illinois Answers Project; “Strapped Down: Restraint Chairs in Illinois Jails”
- Staff; NBC 5/Telemundo Chicago; “Dismissed: How Sex Crimes Disappear”
Congratulations to this year’s finalists!