Announcing the Religion News Association 2025 Excellence in Religion Reporting Award Winners
Religion reporters from around the world won top honors Saturday, April 25, at the awards banquet during Religion News Association’s 77th annual conference.
RNA’s Excellence in Religion Reporting Contest recognizes excellence in religion reporting across print, audio, video and digital journalism. Entries were judged by current and former journalists and journalism educators.
Kimberly Winston was presented with the William A. Reed Lifetime Achievement Award for her exceptional long-term commitment and service to the field of religion reporting.
First place for Religion Story of the Year went to Jessica Morris of The Roys Report. Second place went to Tom Gjelten of Moment Magazine. Third place went to Mike Hixenbaugh and Elizabeth Chuck of NBC News.
Elizabeth Dias, Ruth Graham, Jason Horowitz and the staff of The New York Times received first place in the Renner Award for Excellence in In-Depth and Continuing Coverage. Second place went to Mike Hixenbaugh, Roberto Daza, Antonia Hylton, Elizabeth Chuck and Suzy Khimm of NBC News. Third place was awarded to Camillo Barone of National Catholic Reporter. Honorable mention went to Gulnaz Khan, Hossam Aboul-Magd, Alex Jouve, Jason Williams and Jeremy Seifert of PBS.
First place in the Supple Award for Excellence in Feature Reporting went to Elizabeth Dias of The New York Times. Second place went to Andy Olsen of Christianity Today. Bekah Stolhandske McNeel of Texas Monthly won third place. Honorable mention went to Benyamin Cohen of The Forward.
First place for Excellence in Analysis and Explanatory Reporting was awarded to Amanda Henderson and Jonathan Woodward for Complexified from Religion News Service. Second place went to Bobby Ross Jr. of Religion Unplugged. Joshua McElwee of Reuters placed third. Honorable mention went to Jeff Roberts and Matthew Enuco of NJ Advance Media.
First place for the Rachel Zoll Award for Excellence in Breaking News was awarded to Joshua McElwee, Crispian Balmer and Philip Pullella of Reuters. Second place went to Elizabeth Dias and Ruth Graham of The New York Times. Hannah Feuer of The Forward won third place. Honorable mention went to Brian Kaylor of A Public Witness. The award, introduced this year, honors the legacy of Rachel Zoll, the longtime Associated Press religion reporter and beloved member of the RNA community who died of brain cancer in 2021.
Ian Shapira of The Washington Post won first place for Excellence in Investigative and Data Reporting. Brian Kaylor of A Public Witness won second place.
First place for Excellence in Digital Storytelling went to Benyamin Cohen and Andy Carvin of The Forward.
For the Chandler Award for Excellence in Student Religion Reporting, first place went to Evan Sung of Religion News Service. Second place went to Helen Teixeira of Religion News Service. Third place went to Rachel Rosenfield of Moment Magazine. Honorable mention went to Clara Shapiro of The Forward.
In Division 1: Niche and Religious Audiences, first place went to Tom Gjelten of Moment Magazine. Second place went to Fatima AbdulKarim, Samar Hazboun, Lorenzo Milne, Petterik Wiggers and Laure Delacloche of ONE Magazine. Third place was awarded to Brian Roewe of National Catholic Reporter. Honorable mention went to Jay P. Goldman, Robert M. Franklin and Mark A. Chancey of School Administrator Magazine.
Alexandria Burris and Kayla Dwyer of The Indianapolis Star won first place in Division 2: Local, Regional and Metro Outlets. Deena Yellin of The Record/NorthJersey.com won second place. Third place was awarded to Peggy Fletcher Stack of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Lauren Jackson of The New York Times won first place in Division 3: National and International Outlets. Peter Smith of The Associated Press won second place. Third place was awarded to Elizabeth Dias, Jason Horowitz, Ruth Graham, Emma Bubola and Jane Bradley of The New York Times. Honorable mention went to Bob Smietana of Religion News Service.
First place for Excellence in News Commentary was awarded to Lauren Jackson of The New York Times. Second place went to Tyler Huckabee of Sojourners Magazine. Jay Michaelson of The Forward won third place. Honorable mentions went to Alberto Fernández of EWTN News and Niyati Evers of The Revealer.
First place for Excellence in Lifestyle and Culture Commentary was awarded to Eli Federman. Second place went to Gail Cornwall of The Atlantic. Thomas J. Reese, S.J., of Religion News Service won third place.
In the Religion Publication category, first place went to Sojourners Magazine, and second place went to Moment Magazine.
The first place Book of the Year Award went to William J. Kole for In Guns We Trust: The Unholy Trinity of White Evangelicals, Politics, and Firearms. Second place went to Holly Berkley Fletcher for The Missionary Kids: Unmasking the Myths of White Evangelicalism.
Ashlee Rezin of the Chicago Sun-Times received first place for Excellence in Photography. Second place went to Andrew Nelles of The Tennessean. Third place went to Diaa Ostaz, Anna Klochko and Ahmad Fallaha of ONE Magazine. Honorable mention went to Jessie Wardarski of The Associated Press.
First place for Excellence in Video: Short Reports went to Mike Hixenbaugh, Kate Snow, Abigail Brooks, Nick Lerman and Geraldine Cols Azócar of NBC News. Simon Ostrovsky, Katia Patin, Morgan Till, Sara Just and Ani Chkhikvadze of PBS NewsHour won second place. Sarah Breger and Eli Katzoff of Moment Magazine won third place. Honorable mention went to Linda Freund, Francisco Pareja, Lauren Costantino, Mostafa Taleb and José Angel Guevara of The Fetzer Institute / The Miami Herald.
In Excellence in Video: Long Reports, first place went to Antonia Hylton, Mike Hixenbaugh, Roberto Daza, Quinton Boudwin and Tate James of NBC News.
First place for Excellence in Audio: News Reporting went to Nirvani Williams, Daniel Burke and Sarah Ventre of NPR & NEPM. Lauren Frayer, Fatima Al-Kassab and Paulo Nunes dos Santos of NPR won second place. Frank Langfitt, Catherine Laidlaw and Daniel Burke of NPR won third place. Honorable mention went to Emily Wither of the BBC.
In Excellence in Audio: Commentary and Conversation, first place was awarded to Katelyn Beaty, Roxanne Stone and Jonathan Woodward for Saved by the City from Religion News Service. Second place went to B.T. Irwin and Kenneth Pybus of The Christian Chronicle Podcast from The Christian Chronicle. Third place was awarded to Amanda Henderson and Jonathan Woodward for Complexified from Religion News Service. Honorable mention went to Mary C. Curtis of Equal Time with Mary C. Curtis.
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Contact
Emily Churchill, Director
Director@RNA.org
