The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) today announced its 2026 Knight International Journalism awardees. José J. Nieves, an exiled media leader from Cuba who is the editor-in-chief of innovative news site elTOQUE, and Zeinab Mohammed Salih, a courageous freelance reporter covering the atrocities of the war in her home country of Sudan, will be honored at the 2026 ICFJ Awards Dinner.
Philip Obaji Jr. is one of the foremost journalist reporting for international audiences on massacres, rape, torture and other abuses at the hands of Russian paramilitaries in Central and West Africa. Obaji, who is the winner of the 2025 ICFJ Knight International Journalism Award, delivered the following remarks on Nov. 13 at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC, at the ICFJ Awards Dinner 2025.
A Venezuelan journalist in exile, César Batiz is the innovative co-founder of El Pitazo, which continues to deliver news in the face of state censorship. Batiz, who is the winner of the 2025 ICFJ Knight International Journalism Award, delivered the following remarks on Nov. 13 at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC, at the ICFJ Awards Dinner 2025.
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.
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. Candidates can be reporters, editors, technologists, media managers or citizen journalists. Candidates who meet the awards criteria may nominate themselves. Please send in your nominations by Sunday, Feb. 28.
The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) will award top honors this year to CNN host Fareed Zakaria and two intrepid founders of investigative news sites in Egypt and Russia, countries with harsh controls on the press.
Facing a barrage of legal attacks, renowned journalist and digital news pioneer Maria Ressa says the Philippines is on the verge of experiencing the death of democracy by “a thousand cuts.” In an online event co-hosted by ICFJ and FRONTLINE, she said her country, once known for its vibrant news media, is now teetering on the brink of a “precipice.”
Maria Ressa, an outspoken champion of press freedom, was convicted today in a case that is widely seen as a crackdown on independent journalism in the Philippines.
“This is a miscarriage of justice," said ICFJ President Joyce Barnathan. “Maria is facing a bevy of charges designed to silence her and Rappler. If journalists are convicted for exposing corruption, democracy itself is at stake. ICFJ condemns Maria's conviction and calls for all other charges against her to be dropped.”
Claire Wardle, a leading expert on social media and how it is used to spread disinformation around the world, says Americans can better prepare themselves for the 2020 elections by learning from the experiences of other countries.
