ABOUT THE AWARDS:

The Corporation for New Jersey Local Media is seeking nominations for the sixth-annual NJ Journalism Awards. These awards recognize established and emerging forms of journalism that address community and civic needs, and this year include the new A-Mark Prizes for Investigative Reporting — the first cash-prize category in the six-year history of the NJ Journalism Awards. Eight awards will be bestowed during the 2026 Byrne-Kean NJ Journalism Awards event at the Morris Museum in Morristown on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, to journalists and media professionals whose work strengthened state and local news and civic life in New Jersey. 

Nominations for all categories are due by Wednesday, September 30, 2026.

Award Categories

• Lifetime Achievement Award in New Jersey Journalism — Awarded to a nominee whose lengthy career in New Jersey journalism has been characterized by excellence in reporting and whose work enhanced civic engagement and public knowledge critical to a democratic society.
• A-Mark Prizes for Investigative Reporting — Awarded to the reporters and outlet for the best investigative journalism of the year ending June 30, 2026, recognizing rigorous reporting that holds institutions accountable and makes a difference in New Jersey communities. Three cash prizes will be awarded (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place), each split between the reporters and the outlet that published or aired the work. (This category replaces the former Statewide Impact and Local Impact Awards). The cash prizes will be awarded as follows:
  • • A $7,500 first-place award, split as $5,000 for the reporters who performed the work and $2,500 for the outlet that published or aired it.
    • A $4,500 second-place award, split as $3,000 for the reporters and $1,500 for the outlet.
    • A $3,000 third-place award, split as $2,000 for the reporters and $1,000 for the outlet. 
• Public Service and Journalistic Excellence Award — Recognizes a story, series, or project that illuminated an issue of civic importance to the public — at the statewide, regional, or local level — that may otherwise have gone unnoticed.
• College Student Journalism Impact Award — Awarded for a story or stories, published or broadcast during the 2025–2026 school year by a college/university student or students that illuminated an issue of importance to the college community in New Jersey.
• High School Student Journalism Impact Award — Awarded for a story or stories, published or broadcast during the 2025–2026 school year by a high school student or students that illuminated an issue of importance to the high school community in New Jersey.
• Unsung Hero of New Jersey Journalism Award (new this year) — Honors the legacy of the late Jake Yaniak, a longtime production manager for New Jersey Hills Media Group. This award recognizes a member of a media organization who has worked behind the scenes to support the effective delivery of quality local news — whether through editorial excellence, operational innovation, audience engagement, or business sustainability — without having received a byline, appeared on camera, or spoken into a microphone.

Eligibility

• Stories published or broadcast between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026 are eligible for nomination for the A-Mark Prize and Public Service and Journalistic Excellence Award categories.
• Stories published or broadcast during the 2025–2026 school year by a high school or college/university student are eligible for the Student Journalism Impact Awards.
• Journalists who started or spent a significant part of their careers in New Jersey are eligible for the Lifetime Achievement Award.
• Media professionals who have worked behind the scenes in New Jersey local news, without a byline or on-air/on-mic credit, are eligible for the Unsung Hero Award.