KSL-TV Honored with Brooks Jackson Prize in Walter Cronkite Awards

In an era when polls consistently show Americans deeply concerned about democracy’s future, the 2025 Walter Cronkite Awards for Excellence in Political Journalism have recognized journalists who exemplify how a free press safeguards constitutional principles and holds power accountable.

Established in 2001 and presented every two years by the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, the Cronkite Awards celebrate outstanding political reporting on television and digital media that meets exceptional standards of reporting and analysis.

This year’s awards spotlight journalists whose work defends democratic institutions through rigorous reporting, even when facing personal or professional risks. The honorees were selected for their commitment to truth and integrity in the face of increasing challenges to press freedom.

“The 2025 honorees reflect the courage and integrity that defined Walter Cronkite’s career,” said Gordon Stables, director of USC Annenberg’s School of Journalism. He noted that judges selected each recipient for demonstrating how “a principled and trustworthy press confronts threats to democratic institutions through rigorous, impactful reporting.”

The awards carry special significance given Walter Cronkite’s legacy in American journalism. For nearly two decades, up to 30 million Americans tuned in nightly to watch Cronkite anchor the “CBS Evening News.” Once named “the most trusted man in America” in a national poll, Cronkite’s 1968 reporting from Vietnam—where he challenged the government’s narrative about winning the war—became a turning point in American politics and demonstrated the essential role of responsible journalism.

Cronkite himself was prescient about the challenges facing broadcast journalism. In testimony before the U.S. Senate, he warned that “broadcast news today is not free,” noting its freedom had been “curtailed by fiat, by assumption, and by intimidation and harassment.” He cautioned that “the power to make us conform is too great to forever lie dormant.”

Among the national winners this year are Peter Alexander, NBC News chief White House correspondent, honored for “Holding the Powerful Accountable”; a “60 Minutes” report on the “Rule of Law” with correspondent Scott Pelley; and a series of PBS NewsHour interviews titled “On Democracy” with co-anchors Amna Nawaz and Geoff Bennett.

Additional national honorees include Rachel Maddow for “Everyone, Everywhere, All at Once”; CBS Evening News Plus anchor John Dickerson for his “Reporters Notebooks” series; and Noticias Telemundo’s Spanish-language primetime special “100 Días de Trump” with anchor Julio Vaqueiro.

In local news, KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City received recognition for “We’re Citizens,” a three-part investigative series by reporter Spencer Humphrey about a U.S. citizen and her daughter detained by Homeland Security agents. The awards program also introduced a new category this year, Comedic News and Commentary, with the inaugural honor going to Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show.

The Cronkite Awards partners with the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania to present the Brooks Jackson Prize for Fact-Checking, named for FactCheck.org’s founding director. This year’s recipient is KSL-TV 5 in Salt Lake City for its “Truth Test” series of fact-checks during Utah’s 2024 legislative session.

Judges praised KSL-TV’s work as “clear, informative, even-handed and well-researched,” noting that the station “fact-checked claims on popular issues and provided post-debate coverage of statements made during primary and general election debates for statewide races.”

The judges highlighted several qualities that distinguished this year’s winners, including investigations that exposed attempts to intimidate law firms for defending due process, reporting on efforts to weaponize federal agencies for political retribution, and coverage of under-reported nationwide protest movements driven by local activism.

They also recognized journalists who pursued truth despite official intimidation and ridicule, demonstrated fairness without resorting to false equivalence, and reported stories even when key figures refused to participate for fear of retribution.

As concerns about the future of democracy continue to dominate public discourse, the Cronkite Awards serve as a reminder of journalism’s essential role in preserving democratic institutions and ensuring power remains accountable to the people.