The Awards

At the 2025 ICFJ Awards Dinner, ICFJ Knight Award winners Philip Obaji Jr. and César Batiz (center) pose with (from left to right) Knight Foundation Director of Journalism Marisa Kwiatkowski, ICFJ President Sharon Moshavi, NBC News and Telemundo Anchor José Díaz-Balart and ICFJ Board Chair Carrie Budoff Brown.
2025 ICFJ Knight Award winners Philip Obaji Jr. and César Batiz (center) with (from left to right) Knight Foundation Director of Journalism Marisa Kwiatkowski, ICFJ President Sharon Moshavi, NBC News and Telemundo Anchor José Díaz-Balart and ICFJ Board Chair Carrie Budoff Brown

 

ICFJ Knight International Journalism Award

The Knight International Journalism Awards have been the centerpiece of ICFJ’s annual Tribute since 1998, honoring journalists and media innovators who show extraordinary courage in bringing vital information to audiences in countries beset by conflict and press freedom challenges. Recipients of the ICFJ Knight International Journalism Award are reporters, editors, technologists, media managers or citizen journalists who, despite difficult circumstances, produce pioneering news reports or innovations that make a significant impact in their countries. See past award winners.

The Award is supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. 


ICFJ Founders Award for Excellence in Journalism

The ICFJ Founders Award honors commitment to the highest standards of the profession, in tribute to the three visionaries who started ICFJ in 1984: Tom Winship, Jim Ewing and George Krimsky. Winship, Ewing and Krimsky shared a conviction that journalism’s role is to expose, investigate and articulate the issues that matter to all citizens, and they built ICFJ to help journalists everywhere live up to that standard. ICFJ honors that legacy now in a new way, presenting the award to those who have founded a new generation of news outlets working to serve the public interest.
 

ICFJ Excellence in International Reporting Award

The Excellence in International Reporting Award is presented annually to journalists who deliver unparalleled news and analysis from global hotspots. Despite great personal risks, the recipients provide high-quality, on-scene coverage that shapes public discourse. Their work serves as an inspiration to reporters around the world.
 

ICFJ Knight Trailblazer Award

The ICFJ Knight Trailblazer Award recognizes news media pioneers who over the course of long careers have contributed to strengthening journalism in their countries and/or regions, particularly where freedom of the press is restricted. The award, which is presented periodically rather than annually, celebrates those with substantial track records of supporting and improving journalism for the greater good. 
 

ICFJ News Innovation Award

The News Innovation Award recognizes pioneering ways of doing journalism that provide vital and actionable information to improve people's lives. Created in 2010 and presented periodically since then, the award is given to journalists, media founders, technologists and others who are reimagining how news is gathered, produced or delivered. 

Honorees have used emerging technologies, novel business models and creative storytelling formats, often operating in challenging media environments. Their work demonstrates that innovation in journalism is not simply about adopting new tools, but about finding fresh approaches to serve audiences – while remaining committed to delivering fact-based news that is independent and reliable.