Humboldt Journalism Project presents: The 2025 40th Award for Journalism

The 40th Award will be presented to deeply reported journalism that examines local governments, institutions or entities within Humboldt County that affect people in the lower 40 percent of the income scale. The 2025 award offers a first prize of $1,500 and up to two honorable mentions of $500 each. We encourage reporting that:

• Unveils deliberate or accidental failures in programs intended to help those with lower incomes;
• Exposes political or economic practices that harm or prey upon people with lower incomes;
• Goes beyond merely describing problems, and also examines ways other communities have resolved or improved similar situations.

To qualify, work must be aired, published (print or online) or broadcast during the calendar year 2024 on an outlet whose primary audience is within the geographic boundaries of Humboldt County, California. Any journalist, whether staff or freelance, may enter a maximum of three works annually, and work that was created as a multipart series may be submitted as one entry. Double byline or other collaborative pieces should be entered by all members of the team that created them, with the understanding that winners must divide among themselves any prize money. Prizes will be awarded to the journalist(s) who created the winning work, not to employers or commissioning institutions.

Questions? Contact journalism@inkpeople.org.

All entry materials must be received by January 31, 2025.