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Our community takes the time to recognize top leaders within our industry. For more than 50 years we’ve fostered and awarded journalistic excellence to distinguish outstanding individuals who uphold the highest standards of the press.
Awards of Excellence Hall of FameThe Atlanta Press Club’s Awards of Excellence celebrates the best of journalism from the previous year. Awards are given within print, broadcast, and digital categories. To learn more about the Awards of Excellence and Sponsorship opportunities, please click here!
The Atlanta Press Club is excited to share expanded and new categories for the 2026 Atlanta Press Club Awards of Excellence. These updates aim to modernize the program, reflect emerging storytelling formats, and ensure our awards continue to celebrate excellence across the full breadth of journalism in Georgia. APC is also is pleased to announce that we will be continuing our partnership with the A-Mark Foundation for the 2026 Awards of Excellence. This continued collaboration enhances the club’s long-standing commitment to honoring the best in journalism by offering cash prizes for the Investigative Reporting category, a key component of the awards. Click here for more information regarding the A-Mark Foundation and submission guidelines.
The 2026 Awards of Excellence submissions are now closed.
2026 finalists are listed below! Winners will be revealed and celebrated at the Awards of Excellence event on Wednesday, May 6, 2026 at The Gathering Spot from 6-8 p.m. Register here!
Name: Matthew Terrell
Outlet: ArtsATL
Story/Series: Disney, Pride and the Power of Song: A Magical Night with the Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus
Name: Dave Schechter
Outlet: Atlanta Jewish Times (freelance)
Story/Series: Telling Lucille Selig Frank’s Story
Name: Danielle Charbonneau
Outlet: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Story/Series: How can a play about alcohol and dementia be hilarious?
Names: Rebecca Grapevine and Andy Miller
Outlet: Healthbeat
Story/Series: Inside a crisis at the CDC: Shooting adds to trauma as workers describe projects, careers in limbo
Names: Patrick Quinn, Sarah Hammond, Joe Holland, Lauren Swaim, Samuel McKinney
Outlet: WANF Atlanta News First
Story/Series: MARTA ESCALATOR Breaking News
Name: Kim Saxon & ANF Staff
Outlet: WANF Atlanta News First
Story/Series: Ice Storm: All Hands on Deck
Name: Staff Reports
Outlet: The Red & Black | The University of Georgia
Story/Series: One year later: A look at the legacy of Laken Riley’s murder
Name: Zaire Breedlove
Outlet: The Sentinel | Kennesaw State University
Story/Series: He Pleaded Guilty to Sexual Battery and Aggravated Assault. He’s Now Enrolled at KSU
Name: Erin Carter
Outlet: Fresh Take Georgia | Kennesaw State University
Story/Series: From Silver Screen to squatters: The fate of an abandoned Regal theater
Name: Katie Guenthner
Outlet: Atlanta Civic Circle
Story/Series: The Extended Stay Trap
Name: Rebecca Grapevine
Outlet: Healthbeat
Story/Series: Metro Atlanta measles outbreak contained by ‘all hands on deck’ response, but low vaccination rates keep Georgia vulnerable
Name: Jake Shore
Outlet: The Current GA
Story/Series: Georgia DFCS relied on controversial laboratory for drug tests crucial to custody decisions
Name: Anatassia Olmos, Luke Carter, Dimitri Lotovski, Bailey Williams, Lindsey Basye, Tim Darnell
Outlet: WANF Atlanta News First
Story/Series: HOA Nightmares
Name: News Staff
Outlet: WABE
Story/Series: Data Centers are a significant and growing business in Georgia
Name: Marian Pittman
Outlet: WSB-TV
Story/Series: The Hit: The Assassination of Derwin Brown
Name: Sammie Purcell
Outlet: Rough Draft Atlanta
Story/Series: Adam Guettel talks music, Catholicism, and ‘Millions’ at Alliance Theatre
Name: Jeremy Powell
Outlet: Georgia Public Broadcasting
Story/Series: Peach Jam Podcast: BONUS – John Driskell Hopkins: Music, Friendship, and Facing ALS
Name: Fiza Pirani
Outlet: 285 South
Story/Series: 808s and heartbreaks: Atlanta rapper Phay sits down with 285 South and talks Palestine, faith, and finding joy amid grief
Name: Caroline Eubanks
Outlet: Azure Road (freelance)
Story/Series: Indigenous Tourism as a Force of Cultural Preservation
Name: Danielle Charbonneau
Outlet: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Story/Series: Vietnamese Sister Give Thanks, Pay it Forward
Name: Henri Hollis & Ligaya Figueras
Outlet: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Story/Series: The Atlanta 50
Name: Beau Evans
Outlet: State Affairs
Story/Series: Killed While Crossing
Name: Xavier Stevens
Outlet: Atlanta Magazine
Story/Series: Two years after The Reserve at LaVista Walk apartment complex burned down, residents still seek answers and atonement
Names: Ciara Cummings, Luke Carter, Lindsey Basye, Bailey Williams
Outlet: WANF Atlanta News First
Story/Series: STOLEN SOBRIETY
Names: Lindsey Basye, Tim Darnell, Brendan Keefe, Anastassia Olmos
Outlet: WANF Atlanta News First
Story/Series: Special prosecutor investigating Georgia sheriff after ANF investigation | Behind the Investigation
Names: Chuck Reece, Jeremy Powell and Jake Cook
Outlet: Georgia Public Broadcasting
Story/Series: Southern Life on Planet OutKast | Salvation South
Name: Jewel Wicker. Maurice Garland, Christina Lee and Shiva Bayat
Outlet: Complex/Idea Generation and Will Packer Media
Story/Series: …Too Crunk for the Neighborhood | Atlanta is…
Name: Emma Hurt
Outlet: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Story/Series: Sam Lilley died in the D.C. plane crash. His family is demanding change
Name: Sarra Sedghi
Outlet: Rough Draft Atlanta
Story/Series: After back-to-back hurricanes, Georgia’s pecan farmers brace for the future
Name: Jake Shore
Outlet: The Current GA
Story/Series: How I became ‘Mark Cuban’ and found community on Forsyth Park’s courts
Name: Jerry Grillo
Outlet: Georgia Trend
Story/Series: Fighting for Farm Futures
Name: Kenna Simmons
Outlet: Georgia Trend
Story/Series: Gimme Shelter
Name: Shaddi Abusaid
Outlet: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Story/Series: ‘Where’s the crime?’: Local attorneys stunned by Walmart surveillance tapes
Name: Grant Blankenship
Outlet: Georgia Public Broadcasting
Story/Series: In Macon, a day to celebrate becoming an American
Name: Liz Kennedy
Outlet: iHeart Radio
Story/Series: Liz Kennedy Radio Reporting
Name: Marisa Mecke
Outlet: WABE
Story/Series: Data center use a lot of water. Georgia counties and conservationists are looking for solutions.
Name: Adrianne Murchison
Outlet: SaportaReport
Story/Series: Let’s Start Healing
Name: Matthew Terrell
Outlet: Kennesaw State University
Story/Series: Secret South
Names: Shane Backler, Natalie Mendenhall, Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy
Outlet: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Story/Series: Politically Georgia
Name: Gabriela Henriquez Stoikow
Outlet: 285 South
Story/Series: An Augusta man decided to “self-deport.” The government arrested him anyway.
Name: Sophia Qureshi
Outlet: 285 South
Story/Series: Detention of reporter Mario Guevara hits Atlanta’s Hispanic community: “Nobody does what he does”
Name: Allie Gross
Outlet: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Story/Series: Locked up as teens: Lawsuit says Georgia gave them no path to parole
Name: Riley Bunch
Outlet: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Story/Series: No Kings Protest
Name: Sofi Gratas
Outlet: Georgia Public Broadcasting
Story/Series: Hundreds gather in Atlanta to support CDC’s top brass after resignations
Name: Grant Blankenship
Outlet: Georgia Public Broadcasting
Story/Series: South Georgia ICE arrests reveal a new reality of immigration enforcement
Name: Ken Sugiura
Outlet: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Story/Series: Coordinator hiring history has shortchanged Black coaches, including at Georgia, Georgia Tech
Name: Jon Nelson
Outlet: Georgia Public Broadcasting
Story/Series: It takes more than X’s and O’s to maintain this high school football program
Name: Tyrik Wynn
Outlet: 41NBC
Story/Series: Pickleball tournament to benefit non-profits in Middle Georgia
Name: Dina Temple-Raston, Megan Detrie, Sean Powers, Erika Gajda, Karen Duffin, Jesse Nighswonger and Jake Cook
Outlet: Click Here Podcast / Recorded Future News and PRX
Story/Series: AI + Morality
Name: Rebecca Grapevine
Outlet: Healthbeat
Story/Series: Emory researcher explains how ‘frugal’ AI could reshape global public health
Name: Dina Temple-Raston, Sean Powers, Karen Duffin, Megan Detrie
Outlet: Click Here Podcast / Recorded Future News and PRX
Story/Series: North Korea’s secret army of hackers
Name: Matthew Terrell
Outlet: Independent
Story/Series: Verification as the Standard: Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism
Name: Matt Scott
Outlet: Atlanta Settlements Database
Story/Series: Atlanta Community Press Collective
Name: WABE Staff
Outlet: WABE
Story/Series: Gold Dome Tracker
Name: Caleb Groves
Outlet: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Name: Tyrik Wynn
Outlet: 41NBC
Name: Sofia Cupertino
Outlet: SDH Network
Names: Alani Letang and Carlos Spann
Outlet:WANF
Story/Series: Lake Lanier Fire
Names: Justin Gray, Justin Crate, Sheila Schutt
Outlet: WSB-TV
Story/Series: Consumer 2025
Name: Chriss Knight
Outlet USA Today Network
Story/Series: The Waitress Who Stole 26 Million Hearts
Name: Miasarah Lai
Outlet: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Story/Series: Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp is at a crossroads. Will it survive?
Name: Najja Parker
Outlet: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Story/Series: How an Atlanta marching band plans to dominate HBCUs in the South
Name: Miasarah Lai
Outlet: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Story/Series: He was held by police for over 30 hours despite being a U.S. citizen
Name: Julien Virgin
Outlet: WABE
Story/Series: Librarians may be at risk
Names: Grant Blankenship, Alicia Eakin, Autumn Rose, Allexa Ceballos
Outlet: Georgia Public Broadcasting
Story/Series: What is a PSC?
Names: Najja Parker and Keith Lovely
Outlet: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Story/Series: The racial history behind MARTA’s limited reach in Atlanta
The Hall of Fame is an annual event that recognizes journalists for their lifetime achievements, whose careers represent the highest standards of journalistic integrity and ethics. They have made outstanding contributions either to journalism in Georgia, the country and the world at large, often courageously overcoming many obstacles to pursue, find and share the truth.
View our 2025 Hall of Fame Sponsor Benefits.
See the 2025 Hall of Fame Event Program.
View the 2025 Hall of Fame Photo Gallery.
Watch the 2025 Hall of Fame Broadcast.
If you have a nomination suggestion for our Hall of Fame committee, please fill out this form or contact info@atlpressclub.org.
If you would like to sponsor the Hall of Fame or other Atlanta Press Club events, please contact Paula Hovater at phovater@atlpressclub.org.
