Join us Nov. 13 at our 2025 Awards Dinner to honor the achievements of brave colleagues whose outstanding news reports have made a huge impact. Many are intrepid reporters who often put their lives on the line to bring us information. Today they face unprecedented challenges, and need our help – and recognition – more than ever.

For one inspiring evening, U.S. headliners will join those working in countries where independent media are in grave danger, all showcasing the importance of quality news.

By becoming a sponsor of D.C.’s premier international media event, you support our work empowering journalists – and our efforts to foster news and information ecosystems that better serve people. In partnership with tech powerhouse Code for Africa, ICFJ has launched a global initiative called ICFJ+ that connects journalists,  technologists, civil society and others to produce and share vital information that people can use to better understand the world and act constructively to shape it.

 

November 13, 2025

Washington, D.C.

Event Date/Location

November 13, 2025 4:00pm - November 13, 2025 9:00pm

Emily Schult
International Center for Journalists
750 17th St. NW
Washington, DC 20006
United States

Awardees


 

Emcee

Abby Phillip
Anchor, NewsNight with Abby Phillip, CNN

With her award-winning background in dogged Washington reporting, Phillip brings unique context to the complexity of current affairs.

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ICFJ Founders Award for Excellence in Journalism

Lester Holt
Anchor and Managing Editor, "NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt" and “Dateline NBC”

Lester Holt is being recognized for his exceptional record serving the public with consequential, reliable news coverage for more than four decades.

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ICFJ Knight International Journalism Award

César Batiz
Co-Founder and Director, El Pitazo

Batiz is the co-founder and director of El Pitazo, a pioneering media outlet that has developed innovative ways to reach and involve Venezuelans in a shrinking democratic space.

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ICFJ Knight International Journalism Award

Philip Obaji Jr.
Correspondent, The Daily Beast

Obaji is the foremost journalist reporting for international audiences on massacres, rape, torture and other abuses by Russian paramilitaries in Central and West Africa.

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Get Involved

Explore all the ways you can get involved with this year's event.


 

 

Awards Dinner Sponsors and Partners

Thank you to all sponsors of the ICFJ Awards Dinner.


Presenting Sponsor

The Pamela Howard Family Foundation

 

 


Leadership Sponsor

 

 


President’s Circle

 

 

The Ewing Family

 

Anonymous

 


Gold Sponsor

David Elliot Cohen &
Laureen Seeger

 

Michael & Anne B. Golden

 

Josef Sternberg Memorial Fund

 

 


Silver Sponsor

 

 

 

Carrie Budoff Brown

 

Marcy McGinnis

 

 


Special Contributors

 

Rik Kirkland

 

 

 

 

News Stories

Journalists from Nigeria, Venezuela Win Prestigious 2025 ICFJ Knight Awards

The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) today announced its 2025 Knight Award winners – two journalists who have demonstrated exceptional courage and perseverance in exposing wrongdoing in environments that are incredibly hostile to the press. The awardees are: César Batiz, an investigative journalist in exile who is the co-founder and director of the pioneering El Pitazo in Venezuela; and Philip Obaji Jr., a Nigerian journalist who has documented Russian atrocities in Central and West Africa as a correspondent for The Daily Beast.

NBC News’ Lester Holt to Receive Top Journalism Award

The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) has named NBC News anchor Lester Holt the 2025 winner of the ICFJ Founders Award for Excellence in Journalism. This honor recognizes Holt's exceptional record serving the public with consequential, reliable news coverage for more than four decades.

ICFJ Knight Awards 2025: Nominate a Journalist You Admire

Each year, the International Center for Journalists honors outstanding colleagues with the ICFJ Knight International Journalism Award at our Tribute to Journalists. We are now seeking nominees whose pioneering coverage or media innovations have made an impact on the lives of people in their countries or regions.

Past Awards Events

 

 

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