Barlett & Steele Award Recipients

The winners of the Barlett & Steele Awards demonstrate time and time again the importance of investigative business journalism in exposing corporate wrongdoing and protecting the vulnerable. Winning entries are chosen not only for their journalistic merit but the impact that ripples out from the publication of the investigation. All of these investigations have led to significant change, with many seeing legislative reforms, federal investigations, or major changes in business practices that ultimately benefit the lives of everyday people. 

An investigation into a business, especially private for-profit corporations, often comes with major hurdles, including tight-lipped employees, a lack of available data, legal barriers, and working with limited resources. These hurdles force journalists to get creative in their methods and the solutions they come up with show the sheer determination and willpower they possess to tell the stories we don’t know, but should.

All of these winning journalists and publications continue the long-standing legacy of Don Barlett and Jim Steele.

View the annual winners or filter through individual winners below.

Global/National Publications

2026
Gold
A breathtaking indictment of reckless practices by major American automotive companies in the lead recycling business and its consequences: an unfolding health catastrophe in Nigeria. The investigation prompted swift reaction from the Nigerian government and attracted widespread attention across the country, while also pressuring American car companies to improve oversight of their supply chain.

Global/National Publications

2026
Silver
A team of reporters at Reuters pulled back the curtain on Donald Trump’s crypto business ventures that highlighted the president’s conflicts of interests and the playbook that allowed the Trump family to invest little-to-nothing and walk away with billions. The stories included intricate details and illuminated the unprecedented conflict of interests present in a president’s family business when his public role is to oversee those industries.

Global/National Publications

2026
Bronze
This series began with a tip from a Russian pharmaceutical representative who alleged corruption in global drug pricing that prompted a large collaboration between 48 media partners. These stunning reporters could easily be titled ‘Profits over Patients’ as it showcases a health care system that has created global inequities in access to pricey cancer drugs, as drug counterfeiters take advantage.

Regional/Local Publications

2026
Gold
This series covered how insecurity became a big business in Mexico and how the same company that has yet to fulfill promises of safer communities is also expanding its presence in the United States. The investigation revealed patterns of opaque contracting, unverifiable results, and a structure that is bound to invite corruption.

Regional/Local Publications

2026
Silver
The reporters examined public records, financial data, internal communications, confidential documents, and thousands of pages of sworn testimony to deliver a rigorous investigation into a national problem and a prime example of giving voice to the voiceless by meticulously exposing a mental health care system that delivers hundreds of millions of dollars in profits while patients suffer.

Regional/Local Publications

2026
Bronze
Through hundreds of records, hours of prison footage, and interviews with those inside and outside state prisons, the reporters found that despite increased security measures, drugs were still finding their way inside prison walls and no one was being held accountable for the harm to inmates it caused.

Outstanding Young Journalist

2026
Gold
A series of coverage on the gambling industry that ranged from the 1-800 addiction helpline to regulating prediction markets and focused on the industry’s massive impact across society and the potential harm to Americans’ wallets and mental health. Devor does an outstanding job at not only breaking important news, but holding the powerful accountable.

Global/National Publications

2025
Gold
Through a series of interviews and digging through court filings and financial statements, this investigation demonstrates how a combination of nonexistent federal oversight and undisguised profit motives propel million-dollar price tags, not research funding nor manufacturing costs. It dismantles the age-old argument that astronomically high prices are an inevitable part of medical innovation.

Global/National Publications

2025
Silver
This sweeping investigation shows how UnitedHealth transformed healthcare by turning patients into monetizable products and doctors into puppets, all to maximize the company’s bottom line. While the company claimed that a bigger market share would empower it to drive down costs, the opposite happened. Owning clinics and contracting with the federal government via Medicare Advantage led to a reality where UnitedHealth’s insurance holders go to UnitedHealth doctors, keeping the money in the company.

About Donald Barlett & James Steele

Donald Barlett and James Steele worked together for more than four decades, first at The Philadelphia Inquirer (1971-1997), where they won two Pulitzer Prizes and scores of other national journalism awards, then at Time magazine (1997-2006), where they earned two National Magazine Awards, becoming the first journalists in history to win both the Pulitzer and its magazine equivalent, and most recently were contributing editors at Vanity Fair (2006-2017).

The Washington Journalism Review said of Barlett and Steele: “They are almost certainly the best team in the history of investigative reporting.”

Two men dressed in nice suits stand for a portrait
Image from barlettandsteele.com
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Barlett and Steele Award Medallion
The 2025 Barlett and Steele Awards are now open for submissions!
Submit your work in one of three categories. There are cash prizes for winners and never any entry fees!