In this webinar, the winners of the 2024–2025 David Nyhan Prizes for Public Policy Journalism, Michael Harriot and Rose Conlon, will join Cynthia Tucker, syndicated columnist and 2024 Nyhan Prize judge, in a conversation about their work and the importance of journalism that centers the people most impacted by political and public policy decisions. The Nyhan Prizes celebrate journalists whose compelling reporting elevates public understanding of policy, politics, and the impact of government on people’s lives—especially those often left unheard by the halls of power.
Michael Harriot, an award-winning journalist, bestselling author, poet, and public historian, has long stood at the forefront of incisive, unflinching journalism that unpacks the complexities of race, power, and policy in America. From his early reporting at Ebony to his work at The Root and The Guardian, and most recently as a columnist at TheGrio, Harriot has consistently illuminated the intersections of race and American democracy. Through relentless reporting, sharp analysis, his signature wit and style, and a deep commitment to justice, Michael Harriot exemplifies the principles of journalism the Nyhan Prize seeks to honor.
New this year is the David Nyhan Emerging Talent Journalism Prize. David Nyhan was passionate about mentoring and championing young writers, and was deeply encouraging of the next generation of reporters in his newsroom. It is in this spirit that we inaugurate this new prize to highlight and encourage early-career journalists whose work shows great promise in the areas that the Nyhan Prizes seek to honor. Rose Conlon of KMUW and the Kansas News Service, has been selected by the judging committee as the Emerging Talent prize’s inaugural recipient. A Wichita-based public radio reporter, Conlon brings a fearless and deeply empathetic lens to some of the country’s most contested policy issues—particularly women’s health, reproductive rights, and rural health care access. Her reporting has shed critical light on the rising incidence of pregnancy-associated domestic violence in Kansas, and exposed dangerous gaps in nursing home oversight, holding both corporations and public decision-makers to account.
Click here to learn more about the winners, the prize and the judging committee.
