Local Media Award

The NIHCM Foundation Local Media Award is a recognition initiative aimed at celebrating excellence in local journalism that contributes meaningfully to the discourse and policy developments in U.S. health care. Sponsored by the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation, a nonprofit organization known for its support of initiatives to improve health care affordability, accessibility, and quality, this award highlights impactful reporting by local media. The foundation has established this prize to encourage high-quality health journalism that can guide stakeholders such as health plans, policymakers, providers, and consumers. The Local Media Award targets journalistic work published during the calendar year 2025 and focuses on U.S.-based health care issues. Entries must be produced by local media outlets with a primary focus on a local market. National media submissions are not eligible and should instead consider NIHCM’s Investigative and General Reporting Award. Eligible work includes both individual stories and officially disseminated series that explore the drivers and consequences of rising health care costs or propose solutions to enhance health care access and quality. A single awardee will be granted a $15,000 prize, making this a prestigious honor in the realm of local media. The award seeks to elevate reporting that is creative, original, and provides new insights into health care systems at the local level. The judges will prioritize entries that show clear relevance to decision-makers and stakeholders in health policy and care delivery. Submissions should reflect a depth of research and analysis that informs or inspires action toward improved health care outcomes. Applications for the second annual award are open and must be submitted by January 30, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Entry is free, and each entrant may submit up to three stories or series. However, a story or series can only be submitted to one award category. No pre-application steps such as letters of intent or concept papers are required. Questions about submissions should be directed to Mikayla Thompson at mthompson@nihcm.org. The judging panel comprises experienced journalists and industry experts, including professionals from outlets like The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and KFF Health News. Winners and finalists will be selected based on journalistic quality, originality, relevance, and potential impact. The award serves not only to recognize excellence but also to amplify effective local storytelling that can shape national health care policy discourse. Although the funder has not specified recurrence, the existence of a "2nd Annual" cycle strongly implies an annual cadence. Therefore, interested journalists are encouraged to monitor NIHCM Foundation communications for updates on future cycles. For now, the current cycle's application deadline of January 30, 2026, is a firm closing date, with awards recognizing work completed in 2025.