Contact: Patricia Kranz, executive director, Overseas Press Club of America
patricia@opcofamerica.org – (917) 971-0746
Global Conflicts Dominate Overseas Press Club Awards
NEW YORK, March 18, 2026 — Coverage of global conflicts dominated the competition in the 87th annual Overseas Press Club Awards, from Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, the humanitarian crisis and war in Gaza, to fighting in Congo and Sudan.
The awards will be presented at the annual OPC awards dinner in New York on April 20. Raney Aronson-Rath, editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE (PBS), will receive the club’s President’s Award for lifetime achievement. She will be introduced by Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa, CEO of Rappler. Julie Pace, senior vice president and executive editor of The Associated Press, will deliver the keynote address. Richard Engel, NBC News’ chief foreign correspondent, will present the 22 awards.
The awards were spread among a large and diverse group of organizations, from global giants like The New York Times, Reuters and Bloomberg News, to smaller outfits like the Examination, an independent non-profit that investigates preventable health threats, and Texas Monthly, which partnered with The Food and Environment Reporting Network and The Economic Hardship Reporting Project.
The geographic range was also vast. Three awards honor reporting on China, two on Ukraine, two on the aftermath of the Assad regime in Syria, two on Israel/Gaza and others on coverage of Bangladesh, Congo, Greenland, Honduras, India, Nigeria and Sudan.
“This year’s awards showcase the extraordinary breadth and depth of international reporting at a time when it has never been more important,” said OPC President Scott Kraft, editor at large at the Los Angeles Times. “We are proud to honor these colleagues for work that reflects a commitment to excellence across both large and small newsrooms and reminds us of why international reporting is vital to readers and viewers everywhere.”
The Associated Press, Bloomberg News, The Economist, The New Yorker and The Wall Street Journal each won two awards.
Mariam Dagga of The Associated Press won the prestigious Robert Capa Gold Medal Award for photographs of death and hunger in Gaza. An AP team in China won the Malcolm Forbes and Morton Frank Award for exposing how the government has enlisted American companies to build a repressive, technology-based system of citizen surveillance.
Bloomberg News won the Robert Spiers Benjamin award for reporting on Latin America, for an account of how former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández came to be tried and convicted on drug-smuggling charges and then pardoned by President Donald Trump. Its graphic novel on India’s sprawling cyber scams won the Kim Wall Award.
The Economist won the Lowell Thomas Award for a podcast on industrial-scale online scams. Kevin (KAL) Kallaugher won the Best Cartoon Award for his work in The Economist, The Baltimore Sun and Substack.
The New Yorker won the Ed Cunningham Award for a tale of the lingering psychic toll on former dissidents held in Assad’s prisons in Syria and the Whitman Bassow Award for a story on the collapse of Inuit society due to climate change.
The Wall Street Journal won the Hal Boyle award for a series on the impact of Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine on citizens, soldiers and prisoners, and the Flora Lewis Award for Yaroslav Trofimov’s account of an international order teetering toward collapse.
In broadcast awards, NBC News’ Richard Engel won the David Kaplan award for his reports on the ground in the Israel-Iran-US war in 2025. The Examination won the Edward R. Murrow Award for a report on lead poisoning in Nigeria linked to the U.S. automotive industry. AL Jazeera English won for a documentary on the crackdown in Bangladesh, and FRONTLINE (PBS) won the David Andelman/Pamela Title Award for a documentary on torture in Assad’s prisons.
In photography, Lynsey Addario won the Olivier Rebbot Award for photos in The Atlantic on the devastation caused by the war in Sudan. Lorenzo Tugnoli of The Washington Post won the Danish Siddiqui photography award for a series on Palestinians in exile.
The OPC also awarded runner-up citations in each of the 22 categories. The New York Times led with four citations, followed by Al Jazeera English with three and The Associated Press and Reuters, each with two citations.
The OPC Awards judging process is led by John Daniszewski, former vice president and editor-at-large for standards of The Associated Press. The entries are reviewed by more than 100 judges from across the profession with deep experience in international journalism.
For a full list of award winners, see below. To see citation (runner-up) winners, click on this link. A list of all our awards judges is posted here. Biographies of those honored with a named award are listed here.
OPC 2026 Awards (for work in 2025)
Newspapers, News Services, Print or Digital
THE HAL BOYLE AWARD
Best newspaper, news service, newsletter or digital reporting from abroad
Sponsor: Norman Pearlstine in memory of Jerry Flint
Staff
The Wall Street Journal
“The Russian Way of War”
Judges: The multi-part series lifted a veil on Russia’s ongoing brutal war in Ukraine, the impact on civilians, and Moscow’s treatment of Ukrainian prisoners and its own conscripted troops. Interviews with two captured North Korean soldiers gave an exclusive look at Pyongyang’s hidden role in the conflict.
THE WILLIAM WORTHY AWARD
Best newspaper, news service, newsletter or digital interpretation of international affairs
Sponsor: The Simon and June Li Center for Global Journalism
Staff
The New York Times
“The Future of Warfare”
Judges: Reporters for The New York Times offered a terrifying glimpse of the future by traveling across Ukraine’s battlefields to detail a new war fought by AI-powered killer drones. In vivid, deeply reported stories, the Times revealed how the front lines have turned into a surreal video game where soldiers hunker, hide and die beneath a sky filled with a thousand snipers.
THE ED CUNNINGHAM AWARD
Best magazine-style, long-form narrative feature in print or digital on an international story
Sponsor: Michael S. Serrill
Jon Lee Anderson
The New Yorker
“A Witness in Assad’s Dungeons”
Judges: Syria’s suffering during its long civil war, and the torture inflicted on its dissenters, are almost numbingly familiar — even as the West often looked away. But Jon Lee Anderson, by zooming in on the divergent fates of two brothers, has produced an intimate, haunting tale of the lingering psychic toll.
THE MADELINE DANE ROSS AWARD
Best international reporting in print or digital medium showing a concern for the human condition
Sponsor: Paula Dwyer
Elliott Woods
Texas Monthly, The Food and Environment Reporting Network and The Economic Hardship Reporting Project
“Inside the Deadliest Immigration-Related Disaster in U.S. History”
Judges: The reporter spent more than two years reconstructing in vivid detail the lives and deaths of 53 migrants who were discovered in the back of a sweltering tractor trailer in Texas. The haunting story of a survivor gives voice to millions of displaced people around the world who face exploitation and violence in the search for safety.
TV, Video, Radio, or Podcast
THE LOWELL THOMAS AWARD
Best radio, audio, or podcast coverage of international affairs
Sponsor: Deborah Amos
Sue-Lin Wong, Sam Colbert, Alizée Jean-Baptiste, Claire Read, Rosie Blau, Weidong Lin and John Shields
The Economist
“Scam Inc”
Judges: Using audio interviews and sound to stunning effect, The Economist’s eight-part podcast series shows how online scams have become industrial-scale global operations, with powerful syndicates earning about $400 billion a year.
THE DAVID KAPLAN AWARD
Best TV or video spot news reporting from abroad
Sponsor: ABC News
Richard Engel, Marc Smith, Gabe Joselow, Lawahez Jabari, Amin Khodadadi, David Lom, Mike Simon and NBC News staff
NBC News
“Richard Engel Reports: Twelve-Day War – Covering the Build-up, Conflict and Aftermath from Inside Israel & Iran”
Judges: Engel, a veteran war correspondent, was able to win access to rarely chronicled spaces, from the floor of the Iranian parliament to the interior of the just-bombed Evin prison, unveiling the horrors that so many had experienced first-hand. With exquisite story-telling and careful editing, Engel was able to bring unmatched depth to a fast-moving but critically important story.
THE EDWARD R. MURROW AWARD
Best TV, video or documentary about international affairs with a run time up to 20 minutes
Sponsor: CBS News
Taylor Turner, Will Fitzgibbon, Ashleigh Joplin and Staff
The Examination
“How the U.S. Automotive Industry Fuels Lead Poisoning in Nigeria”
Judges: The jury saw the documentary as a powerful example of journalists building trust over time and engaging a community to produce a deeply reported and revealing piece. The film is raw and gritty, showing workers slicing open used car batteries with machetes to extract the lead.
THE PETER JENNINGS AWARD
Best TV, video or documentary about international affairs with a run time over 20 minutes
Sponsor: The Jennings Family
William Thorne, Naji Tamimi, Nicholas Dove, Craig Pennington and Emma Hill
AL Jazeera English
“AL Jazeera Investigates – Hasina: 36 Days in July”
Judges: A powerful investigation with real-world impact, Al Jazeera’s documentary unveils the mechanics of a deadly crackdown by Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, which claimed the lives of more than 1,400 protesters as she clung to power.
THE DAVID A. ANDELMAN AND PAMELA TITLE AWARD
Best international TV, video, radio, audio or podcast reporting showing a concern for the human condition
Sponsor: David A. Andelman and Pamela Title
Sasha Joelle Achilli, Sara Obeidat, Amel Guettatfi and Saad Al Nassife
FRONTLINE (PBS), BBC
“Syria’s Detainee Files”
Judges: In a highly competitive field, Syria’s Detainee Files stood out for its scope and deep reporting on the torture of thousands of Syrians who disappeared into the Assad regime’s prisons.
Any Medium
THE MALCOLM FORBES AND MORTON FRANK AWARD
Sponsor: Forbes Magazine
Best international business news reporting in any medium
Dake Kang, Garance Burke, Byron Tau, Yael Grauer and Staff
The Associated Press
“Made in America, Watched Worldwide”
Judges: The AP team exposed how the Chinese regime has enlisted American technology companies, including IBM, Oracle and Microsoft, to build what is arguably the world’s most repressive technology-based system of citizen surveillance. Similar systems now operate in Gaza, Lebanon, Nepal and even the United States.
THE SHIREEN ABU AKLEH AWARD
Best reporting on a continuing international conflict or crisis in any medium
Sponsor: The Simon and June Li Center for Global Journalism
Staff
Reuters
“Conflict in Congo”
Judges: The package built on dogged reporting with exquisite photography that captured the human toll with dignity and nuance, rendering an often-forgotten war with immediacy, urgency and lucidity.
THE JOE AND LAURIE DINE AWARD
Best international reporting in any medium dealing with human rights
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
“China Targets”
Judges: The ICIJ investigation is the very definition of high-impact human rights journalism, combining deep, ambitious, and broad reporting with strong narratives from 42 partners across 23 countries. It exposes not just China’s long reach, but also the complicity of local and international organizations in helping to silence China’s critics.
THE WHITMAN BASSOW AWARD
Best reporting in any medium on international environmental issues
Sponsor: Peter Spiegel
Ben Taub
The New Yorker, with support from the Pulitzer Center
“The Big Ice Is Sick”
Judges: Taub’s stunningly beautiful portrayal of an Inuit society in a remote corner of Greenland, and its collapse due to climate change, colonization and global pollution, is journalism at its finest. He doesn’t dazzle readers with scientific data so much as focus on how individual lives are affected.
THE ROBERT SPIERS BENJAMIN AWARD
Best reporting in any medium on Latin America
Sponsor: Ginger Thompson and Tony Cavin
Monte Reel
Bloomberg News
“Erasing the Verdict”
Judges: Monte Reel illustrates how a notorious drug trafficker, former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, won the backing of Trump-circle insiders who reversed what had been a major strike against the kind of crime in Latin America that U.S. law enforcement had long sought to curtail.
THE KIM WALL AWARD
Best story or series of stories in any medium on international affairs using creative and dynamic digital storytelling techniques
Sponsor: John Daniszewski and Dru Menaker
Natalie Obiko Pearson, Suparna Sharma, Anand RK
Bloomberg News
“India’s Digital Dream, Hacked”
Judges: The graphic novel’s innovative blend of investigative rigor, striking art, and narrative flair not only deepens understanding of cyber scams, a critical digital-age threat, but does so in a way that resonates long after reading.
THE ROY ROWAN AWARD
Best investigative reporting in any medium on an international story
Sponsor: Marcus Rowan
Anna Maria Barry-Jester and Brett Murphy
ProPublica
“The End of Aid: Trump Destroyed USAID. What Happens Now?”
Judges: Reporting by ProPublica from the halls of Washington to tiny villages in Africa showed that jettisoning USAID in the name of efficiency inflicted deeply personal and tragic consequences on millions of impoverished people around the globe who had long depended on America for some of the essentials of life.
THE FLORA LEWIS AWARD
Best commentary in any medium on international news
Sponsor: Marc Lemcke
Yaroslav Trofimov
The Wall Street Journal
“Lawless New World”
Judges: Yaroslav Trofimov’s “Lawless New World” offers a definitive account of an international order teetering toward collapse, driven by a return to 19th-century imperial land grabs and a shift toward raw power politics that is upending traditional global alliances.
Photography
THE ROBERT CAPA GOLD MEDAL AWARD
Best photographic reporting from abroad requiring exceptional courage and enterprise published in any medium
Sponsor: Getty Images
Mariam Dagga
The Associated Press
“Death and Hunger in Gaza”
Judges: In continuing to work under extreme threat until her death in an Israeli strike, Dagga leaves behind a body of work that stands as a powerful testament to the role of journalism in bearing witness to suffering and truth.
THE OLIVIER REBBOT AWARD
Best photographic news reporting from abroad in any medium
Sponsor: David Ake
Lynsey Addario
The Atlantic
“The Most Nihilistic Conflict on Earth”
Judges: Lynsey Addario’s photographs shed much needed light on the devastating ongoing civil war in Sudan. Addario gently draws in the viewer through thoughtful composition and an unwaveringly honest depiction of conflict, without sacrificing human dignity.
THE DANISH SIDDIQUI AWARD
Best feature photography on an international theme published in any medium
Sponsor: Reuters
Lorenzo Tugnoli
The Washington Post
“Palestinians in Exile”
Judges: Lorenzo Tugnoli’s stunning black and white images of the Palestinian diaspora in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt are a poignant reminder that Israel’s devastating war in Gaza is only the most recent trauma leading to another forced displacement.
Books
THE CORNELIUS RYAN AWARD
Best non-fiction book on international affairs
Sponsor: Norman Pearlstine in honor of Scott Kraft
Barbara Demick
Random House
“Daughters of the Bamboo Grove: From China to America, a True Story of Abduction, Adoption, and Separated Twins”
Judges: A moving account of how China’s brutal enforcement of its one-child policy led to the kidnapping of countless thousands of young children in the countryside. Demick reveals that these brutal confiscations ultimately served to fill the rising demand from Americans eager to adopt Chinese babies.
Cartoons
THE BEST CARTOON AWARD
Best print or digital graphic journalism, including cartoons, on international affairs
Sponsor: Mercedes-Benz
KAL’s Cartoons
Kevin (KAL) Kallaugher
The Economist, The Baltimore Sun and Substack
Judges: His work is pointed yet funny, balancing sophisticated hard-hitting satire with belly laughs, the true mark of a great editorial cartoonist.
The Overseas Press Club of America is an international association of journalists based in New York City that works to encourage the highest standards in journalism, to educate the next generation of foreign correspondents and to promote international press freedom and the well-being of colleagues in the field.