Esserman-Knight Journalism Awards

Esserman-Knight Journalism Awards is sponsored by Knight Foundation (administered by The Miami Foundation). Esserman/Knight Journalism Awards is a grant from the Knight Foundation that recognizes and supports outstanding journalism that serves the public interest, with emphasis on local and community reporting.

The Esserman Family Fund for Investigative Journalism 2026 Esserman-Knight Journalism Award Winners The Esserman-Knight Journalism Awards honor excellence in South Florida reporting. Congratulations to the 2026 recipients!

The Esserman-Knight Journalism Awards celebrate outstanding investigative and public service reporting in South Florida that exemplifies the ability of local journalism to expose systemic issues, hold power to account and elevate community voices. The Miami Foundation manages the awards program and houses the Esserman Family Fund for Investigative Journalism .

Winners and finalists were selected by a distinguished jury of veteran journalists, journalism educators and community leaders. Entries were evaluated for the quality of storytelling, depth of reporting, inclusion of community perspectives and demonstrated impact. Winners receive $10,000 for first place, $5,000 for second place, $2,500 for third place, and $1,000 each for honorable mentions.

The Alberto Ibargüen Excellence in Journalism Award The annual program also includes the Alberto Ibargüen Excellence in Journalism Award , which recognizes exceptional leadership in the field. This year’s honoree is Julie K. Brown .

Brown was recognized for her groundbreaking reporting that exposed Jeffrey Epstein’s systematic abuse of young women and the failure of the criminal justice system to protect them. Her original investigative reporting on Epstein for the Herald won first place in the inaugural year of the Esserman-Knight Journalism Awards. The Pulitzer Board recognized Brown’s dogged reporting on the Epstein scandal with a special citation this spring.

In , the Esserman-Knight Journalism awards were presented at the university’s Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center in collaboration with Florida International University’s Lee Caplin School for Journalism and Media and Press Forward South Florida.

Recipients of the Alberto Ibargüen Excellence in Journalism Award will also have the opportunity to direct a $15,000 charitable contribution to support a philanthropic fund for local journalism or news outlet of their choice, made possible by a $250,000 grant to The Miami Foundation from the MacArthur Foundation . Julie K.

Brown, Miami Herald “Killer Train: A Hidden Death Toll and Unchecked Risks on Brightline’s Tracks” Miami Herald & WLRN A yearlong investigation by the Miami Herald and WLRN uncovered that Brightline, the nation’s only privately operated intercity passenger rail, has become the deadliest train system per mile in the United States, with at least 182 fatalities since 2017. It is far higher than public accounts.

Journalists built an original database from fragmented federal records, police reports, and medical examiner files, revealing a death toll obscured by Brightline’s inconsistent reporting and limited oversight. Their work exposed systemic safety failures along densely populated corridors—high-speed trains, frequent at-grade crossings, and insufficient fencing and barriers—while regulators and the company failed to act decisively.

The findings raise urgent questions about transparency, accountability, and the human cost of rapid rail expansion. The journalists also outlined potential solutions presented by safety experts from additional fencing, railway crossings and pedestrian bridges.

At the same time, they raised the questions about who pays the bill to increase safety for a private passenger train business that has already received tens of millions of dollars in government subsidies.

Reported by: Brittany Wallman, Aaron Leibowitz, Daniel Rivero, Joshua Ceballos, Susan Merriam, Shradha Dinesh, and Allison Beck “Floods of Trouble” Miami Herald Journalists analyzed over 16,000 flooding complaints to uncover risks not reflected in FEMA maps. The reporting showed many properties repeatedly flooded outside designated risk zones, leaving buyers in South Florida unaware.

The vital historical records that are unavailable to the public exposed the financial impact of likely flooding on unsuspecting home buyers. FEMA has data on specific properties, but it’s available to a homeowner only after a property, and its flood insurance, is purchased – rather than in advance before the house is purchased — when it could impact decision making.

The stories helped motivate the state legislature to pass a law requiring some reporting on prior home flooding.

Reported by: Susan Merriam & Alex Harris “Stopped In Its Tracks: The Bus Safety Cash Grab” Miami Herald & The Florida Tributary A BusPatrol camera program intended to catch motorists illegally passing stopped school buses generated millions of dollars in citation revenue for a private vendor and the school district—by producing widespread questionable citations.

Reporters from the Miami Herald and the Florida Trib learned of complaints about the program. To understand the extent of the problem, they engaged the public through a callout, drawing hundreds of complaints from people who submitted copies of their citations and the videos that went with them.

Analyzing submissions and video evidence from readers, journalists found many violations were undeserved: cameras failed to distinguish legal from illegal driving, and police reviews were inconsistent. Motorists faced steep fines with little recourse, as courts often did not schedule hearings.

After publishing their findings that the bus camera system frequently misidentified violations, Miami-Dade officials withdrew from the program, effectively halting its use. Reported by: Nandhini Srinivasan & Clara-Sophia Daly “Four years later, has Miami Gardens’ $5M F1 deal delivered for residents?

” The Miami Times Four years after Miami Gardens approved a $5 million Formula One Community Benefits Package to offset resident concerns, public records show only about $1. 07 million had been spent as of July 2025. While F1 and city officials promised investments in education, jobs, and local business opportunities, residents say spending priorities favor parties and events instead.

City officials refused interviews with The Miami Times reporters who then used records to document the results, to date, of the Community Benefits Package. Interviews with residents gave voice to their demands for stronger oversight, transparency, and tangible program impact, especially as the F1 contract extends to 2041.

Reported by: Amelia Orjuela Da Silva “Caught in the Crackdown” Miami Herald The immigration crackdown escalated quickly after President Donald Trump launched in January what he described as the largest mass deportation campaign in U.S. history. In Florida, people began disappearing from their communities. Authorities refused to release the names of those arrested and detained.

The state allocated $298 million for immigration enforcement, deputized more state and local agencies to act as ICE agents than any other state, imposed a $5,000 fine on agencies that refused to cooperate, and made it a crime to enter Florida as an undocumented immigrant. Federal and state authorities claimed they were targeting the “worst of the worst.

” Despite stonewalling from government officials, Miami Herald reporters aggressively challenged claims that detainees had criminal records. They compiled cases not publicly released and detailed the impact on families and communities. They exposed inhumane conditions in South Florida detention centers.

In December, they published a comprehensive analysis that found more than 20,000 people had been arrested in Florida, including people with clean records. Their reporting documented that people swept up in this crackdown included immigrants with work permits, pending asylum cases. They found spouses and parents of U.S. citizens, workers with no criminal records, and people who are U.S. citizens.

The series set the record straight: identifying detainees the government would not name and revealing the human toll of the crackdown—family separations, excessive force, inhumane conditions, and violations of civil and human rights.

Reported by: Claire Healy, Ana Claudia Chacin, Shirsho Dasgupta, Churchill Ndonwie, Ben Wieder, Syra Ortiz Blanes, Ana Ceballos, & Verónica Egui Brito “How Florida’s Domestic Violence System Failed Victims” South Florida Sun Sentinel Many victims of domestic violence never leave their relationships or report the abuse. Instead, they endure it in private, keeping the truth from those close to them and authorities.

But what happens when those victims pursue justice? Sun Sentinel reporters found a system that failed Mary Gingles even though she followed every rule. She did what victims are encouraged to do: left her husband, hired a lawyer, and called police repeatedly, predicting he would kill her.

Despite court orders for him to surrender his guns, the Sheriff’s Office never followed up. Two of Mary’s calls could have led to an arrest, but those cases remained open just days before the murders. The reporters were also the first to reveal prior disciplinary issues involving the deputies tasked with investigating Mary’s calls.

On Feb. 16, 2025, Nathan Gingles drove to Mary’s home with a gun and suppressor, killed her father, then hunted her down and killed her and a neighbor in front of her 4-year-old daughter. The reporting also investigated Scott Matalon, a wealthy man accused of attacking four women across three counties.

Even when victims attended every hearing, the system let them down. Injuries were dismissed as “rough sex;” private investigators pried into their personal lives. The reporting forced a public conversation on these failures.

Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor met with survivors to address his office’s handling of their cases, and Rep. Robin Bartleman filed a bill this session to address the gaps the reporters uncovered.

Reported by: Shira Moolten & Angie DiMichele Coconut Grove Spotlight | Maria O’Brien Ransom Everglades’ “Community Pool” Promise Falls Short Amid Access Concerns Coconut Grove Spotlight | David Villano Miami’s Construction Noise Wars: How Routine Waivers Sparked a Citywide Policy Reckoning Key Biscayne Independent | Tony Winton Eviction Order for Biscayne Nature Center Sparks Outcry Over Lack of Transparency Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times Statehouse Bureau | Lawrence Mower Secret Study Reveals Florida Insurers Shifted Billions While Claiming Financial Strain NBC-6 Investigates | Anthony James, Tony Pipitone, Gabriel Alonso, Connie Fossi Follow the Money: Cash Seized During Police Operations Goes Missing NBC-6 Investigates | Anthony James, Tony Pipitone, Gabriel Alonso, Connie Fossi Immigration Crackdown: Challenging Government Claims with Data Analysis and Reports WLRN NEWS | Carlton Gillespie Family Courts Failed to Act on Warnings Before Violence Under the Radar: How Florida’s Pill Mill Safeguards Failed to Detect a Multimillion-Pill Opioid Scheme WLRN NEWS | Natalie La Roche Pietri “Lost in the System: Disabled Students Undermined by Florida’s Voucher Expansion” About The Esserman Family Fund For Investigative Journalism The Esserman Family Fund for Investigative Journalism honors and strengthens accountability reporting in South Florida by supporting reporters whose work has the power to change laws and lives.

This initiative, created by Ronald and Charlene Esserman and their family, is a way to herald the importance of a free press and fortify journalism’s crucial role in ensuring democratic freedoms. The Essermans believe that amplifying the voices of journalists and their courageous work will keep the community focused on injustice, suppression, and corruption and galvanize us to stand up for change.

After the couple moved to Miami from Chicago in 1968, Ron built a network of businesses in South Florida in the automotive industry, heralded for his focus on quality and integrity. Ron brought humanism to his workplace and invested in the advancement and well-being of his employees.

Ron and Charlene also supported many community causes, establishing organizations that contributed to the cultural health and well-being of Miami-Dade County. They helped establish Zoo Miami and the Deering Estate Foundation, and shaped the Miami City Ballet, the Florida Grand Opera and the Arsht Center.

Throughout their lives, they have been engaged in the political process and supported candidates and causes that focused on guaranteeing free speech, equality for all, quality education and access to resources to enable everyone to have a chance to build a better life.

Ronald Esserman (January 8, 1927 – July 20, 2020) Visionary Mind, Optimistic Spirit, Generous Heart You can join the Essermans in their work to safeguard a free press and democracy through a donation of any size. Click the button to donate to the Esserman Family Fund for Investigative Journalism.

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