The Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress was created in 1980 in honor of the late Republican Senator from Illinois, shown right. The award is intended to recognize individuals whose work shows thoughtful appraisal and insight into the workings of the U.S. Congress. The winning journalist or team of journalists receives a $5,000 prize. An honorable mention will also be awarded. Entries are welcome from print, broadcast and online journalists. The award is presented at the annual Awards Dinner.

Application Instructions

Entries will be judged on how well they covered the workings of the Congress as a whole, or helped illuminate the actions of elected officials or congressional staff, or described the workings of congressional policies. The work must have been published or broadcast in Sept.1, 2011 - Sept.1, 2012. 

Entries will only be accepted through the online application form. The deadline to submit the 2012 application was 5 pm Monday, October 15, 2012. We will announce winners shortly.

Contact Kerry Buker at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 202.663.7282 with questions.

Winners

• Deirdre K. Walsh and Dana Bash

  CNN

  2012
• David S. Fallis, Scott Higham, Kimberly Kindy and Dan Keating

  The Washington Post

  2012
• 
  John Crewdson, Alison Fitzgerald, Jonathan D. Salant, Charles R. Babcock, Kristin Jensen

  Bloomberg News

  2011
• 
  David Welna

  NPR

  2011
• 
  Brody Mullins

  The Wall Street Journal

  2010

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