The Daofeng and Angela Foundation (DAF) is partnering with Young America’s Foundation’s prestigious National Journalism Center to honor truth-seeking journalists with the Dao Prize. Funded by the DAF and launched in conjunction with NJC, the Dao Prize is an annual award founded to recognize excellence in investigative journalism.
As trust in media hovers near record lows, DAF and NJC believe it is essential to celebrate reporters advancing the public interest through robust investigative work. Too often, the media establishment celebrates work that protects power rather than challenging it. The Dao Prize will honor truth above all else. Dao Prize-winning journalism stands out for accuracy and courage.
The inaugural Dao Prize will be awarded in the fall of 2023. It is available to all American media outlets. The National Journalism Center, a project of Young America’s Foundation, has trained truth-seeking journalists since 1977. The Dao Prize will be judged by an independent prize committee, who will cast secret ballots after a round of debate and discussion. Winners will then be announced at a celebratory dinner held in Washington, D.C. The first-prize winners will be awarded $100,000, and two honorable mention winners will receive $10,000 each.
Publications are welcome to submit as many stories for consideration as they like. Applications are available at njc.yaf.org/DaoPrize, and all applications must be signed and approved by an editor from the publication. All mediums will be considered, including print, broadcast, podcast, Substack, etc. The deadline for submissions is September 1.
The Daofeng and Angela Foundation is passionate about this prize and firmly believes that for America to preserve her founding principles and hold elected officials accountable, courageous journalists are essential. The Dao Prize will award these courageous journalists and give them the recognition often ignored by other organizations and media outlets.
Regarding the announcement of the Dao Prize, National Journalism Center Director Emily Jashinsky said, “For too long, journalists quietly plugging away at brave and thorough investigative work—journalism that holds power to account—have been either attacked or ignored by their peers. The Dao Prize will change this shameful pattern and recognize the best investigative journalism, restoring the standards of accuracy, fairness, and courage to America’s free press. It’s desperately needed.”
