The Izzy Award is named after maverick journalist I. F. “Izzy” Stone, who launched I. F. Stone’s Weekly in 1953 and exposed government deception, McCarthyism, and racial bigotry. Presented by the Park Center for Independent Media annually for “outstanding achievement in independent media,” the Izzy Award goes to an independent outlet, journalist, or producer for contributions to our culture, politics, or journalism created outside traditional corporate structures.
This year’s judges are Jeff Cohen, founding PCIM director and founder of FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting); Esther Kaplan, investigations editor at Insider; Victor Pickard, professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania; Patricia Rodriguez, former chair of the Department of Politics at Ithaca College and analyst at Earthworks in Washington, D.C.; and Raza Rumi, director of the Park Center for Independent Media.
For more information on Izzy Stone, see a June ‘09 Democracy Now! program devoted to his life.
Izzy Award 2023
The winners of the 15th annual Izzy Award were The Lever, Mississippi Free Press, Carlos Ballesteros, and Liza Gross.
The Lever: “We Just Won Something Huge”
The Lever’s April 2 newsletter celebrates the outlet’s 2023 Izzy Award win.
Izzy Award 2022
The 14th honored The City, Block Club Chicago, Indigenously, and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
Izzy Award 2021
The 13th annual Izzy Award was presented in 2021 to journalists Tim Schwab and Liliana Segura, and outlet Truthout.
Izzy Award 2020
The 12th honored journalist Matt Taibbi, Puerto Rican outlet Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, and publication News Inside.
Izzy Award 2019
The 11th Izzy Award honored journalists Laura Flanders, Dave Lindorff and Aaron Maté and publication Earth Island Journal.
Izzy Award 2018
The 10th annual Izzy Award was presented in 2018 to journalists Lee Fang, Sharon Lerner, Dahr Jamail and Todd Miller.
Izzy Award 2017
The ninth annual Izzy Award honored in 2017 journalists Shane Bauer, Ari Berman, Seth Freed Wessler, and “America Divided.”
Izzy Award 2016
The eighth annual Izzy Award was presented in 2016 to Inside Climate News and journalists Jamie Kelven and Brandon Smith.
Izzy Award 2015
The seventh annual Izzy Award was presented in 2015 to author Naomi Klein and investigative journalist David Sirota.
Izzy Award 2014
The sixth annual Izzy Award was presented in 2014 to independent reporter John Carlos Frey and journalist and author Nick Turse.
Izzy Award 2013
The fifth annual Izzy Award was presented in 2013 to the nonprofit news outlet Mother Jones for eye-opening investigations.
Izzy Award 2012
The fourth annual Izzy Award honored in 2012 correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous and the Center for Media and Democracy.
Izzy Award 2011
The third annual Izzy Award was presented in 2011 to independent journalist Robert Scheer and indy magazine City Limits.
Izzy Award 2010
The second annual Izzy Award was presented in 2010 to independent journalist Jeremy Scahill for news on military contractors.
Izzy Award 2009
The inaugural Izzy Award was presented in 2009 to blogger Glenn Greenwald and Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman.