In 2010, the National Press Foundation established this award to recognize outstanding reporting about the impact of federal laws and regulations on local communities. It is open to any U.S.-based journalist whose work represents the highest standards of journalism. The award includes a cash prize of $5,000.
There is a maximum of 2 entries allowed per news organization.
The National Press Foundation’s 2025 Feddie Award is awarded to a team from the Miami Herald for a series on “Alligator Alcatraz,” the immigration detention center constructed over a matter of days this summer in the Florida Everglades.
“Their reporting exemplifies the power of local journalism to expose the human impact of federal immigration policies,” NPF judges said. “We were impressed by the Miami Herald’s combination of investigative rigor, clear focus, and public service.
The Feddie Award-winning Miami Herald team is state government and politics reporter Ana Ceballos (now with the Los Angeles Times), investigative reporter Ana Claudia Chacin, investigative data reporter Shirsho Dasgupta, Esserman Investigative Fellow Claire Healy and investigative reporter and editor Ben Wieder.
The National Press Foundation awarded Cox Media Group and KFF Health News the 2024 Feddie Award for their year-long investigation, “Social Security’s Secret,” which revealed that the Social Security Administration mistakenly overpaid millions of Americans and then reduced or suspended their checks even years later.
Their investigation was cited in a congressional hearing and ultimately led the SSA to revise their policies and restore benefits.
Journalists from eight Cox Media Group TV stations and KFF Health News worked in collaboration to produce more than 150 stories. The journalists are Jodie Fleischer, Josh Wade, Samantha Manning, Alex Fruin and Jon Sonnheim of Cox Media Group; David Hilzenrath and Fred Clasen-Kelly of KFF Health News; Justin Gray and Leah Dunn of WSB; Ted Daniel and Christine Swartz of WFXT; John Bedell of WHIO, Amy Hudak of WPXI, Jesse Jones of KIRO, Shannon Butler of WFTV, Ben Becker of WJAX and Madison Carter of WSOC. Contributing photographers are Kevin Johnson, Ryan Minutello, Octavio Torres, Diar Gilyana, Dan King-Lopes, Erling Moe, David Chase and Jeff Williams.
Hannah Dreier of The New York Times won the award in 2023 for her investigative reporting on the labor exploitation of migrant children in the U.S. The judges noted the immediate impact of Dreier’s reporting, leading to the resignation of Biden’s domestic policy chief Susan Rice, Congressional hearings for Health & Human Services Sec. Xavier Becerra and Department of Labor investigations into Perdue and Tyson Foods.
