2025 Esserman-Knight Journalism Awards

Congratulations to the 2025 recipients!

The Esserman-Knight Journalism Awards celebrate outstanding investigative and public service reporting in South Florida that exemplifies the ability of local journalism to expose systemic issues, hold power to account and elevate community voices.

Founded in 2019 by the Esserman family and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the awards program drew 54 nominations this year from 26 media outlets across South Florida, including local television stations, newspapers, public radio stations, nonprofit newsrooms and digital publications.

The Miami Foundation manages the awards program and houses the Esserman Family Fund for Investigative Journalism.

Winners and finalists were selected by a distinguished jury of veteran journalists, journalism educators and community leaders.

Entries were evaluated for the quality of storytelling, depth of reporting, inclusion of community perspectives, and demonstrated impact. Winners receive $10,000 for first place, $5,000 for second place and $1,000 each for honorable mentions.

The annual program also includes the Esserman-Knight Excellence in Journalism Award, which recognizes exceptional leadership in the field. This year’s honoree is Alberto Ibargüen, former president and CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and former publisher of the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald.

In recognition of Ibargüen’s national leadership in promoting innovation and a sustainable future for journalism––and his enduring commitment to South Florida––the award will now bear his name: the Alberto Ibargüen Excellence in Journalism Award.

Recipients of the Alberto Ibargüen Excellence in Journalism Award will also have the opportunity to direct a $15,000 charitable contribution to support a philanthropic fund for local journalism or news outlet of their choice, made possible by a $250,000 grant to The Miami Foundation from the MacArthur Foundation.

The Esserman-Knight Excellence in Journalism Award: Alberto Ibargüen

Alberto Ibargüen served as president and CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation from 2005 to 2024, where he guided the organization in investing over $2.3 billion to support journalism, arts, economic development and research in the communities where the Knight brothers once published newspapers.

A former publisher of the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald he led both papers to national and international acclaim, including three Pulitzer Prizes and the Ortega y Gasset Prize for excellence in journalism.

He studied at Wesleyan University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Between college and law school, he served in the Peace Corps in Venezuela’s Amazon Territory and later as a Peace Corps programming and training officer in Bogotá, Colombia. He practiced law in Hartford, Connecticut, before entering journalism at the Hartford Courant, Newsday, and the Miami Herald.

FIRST PLACE

Miami Herald: “Guilty of Grief”

Carol Marbin Miller, Linda Robertson, Camellia Burris and Susan Merriam

This  investigation examines the police killing of 21-year-old Richard Hollis, a mentally ill man shot by an officer with a prior history of threatening him. The reporting goes well beyond the story of Hollis’s tragic death. The journalists describe a mother’s relentless struggle to find help for her troubled son through Florida’s broken mental health system and her quest to seek accountability for his death.

The reporting exposes systemic failures in Florida’s mental health and criminal justice systems—including inadequate patient treatment, lack of police training, and a culture resistant to reform or accountability. Drawing on police body camera footage, court records and interviews, this compelling presentation exposes the deeply rooted problems that made this tragedy both predictable and preventable.

SECOND PLACE

Sun Sentinel: “Born to Die: Florida’s Infant Mortality Crisis“

Cindy Krischer Goodman and Carline Jean

The Sun Sentinel’s powerful series investigates Florida’s rising infant mortality crisis, focusing on racial disparities, inadequate prenatal care and the consequences of the state’s refusal to expand Medicaid. The reporting also explores how low Medicaid reimbursement rates and systemic medical mistreatment of Black and brown mothers and other health care failures put babies and mothers at risk.

The series examines the consequences of not addressing the root causes of premature births, including the high costs—both emotional and financial—of saving premature infants through advanced medical technologies. This in-depth reporting and data analysis spurred responses from state health officials, philanthropists, and legislators, leading to increased investments in maternal health, expanded telehealth services, and proposed legislation to support doula training.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Miami Herald: “Key Biscayne’s Dark Secret”

Ana Claudia Chacin and Clara-Sophia Daly

A Miami Herald investigation exposed allegations of sexual assault and abuse of young gymnasts dating back 12 years that resulted in criminal charges against a longtime gymnastics coach in Key Biscayne. The reporting began after a concerned parent reached out to the newsroom saying, “I hope you’ll shine a light on this story as you did with Epstein,” invoking the Herald’s past reporting on Jeffrey Epstein.

Through interviews with victims and their families and a thorough review of public records, the team revealed how law enforcement failed to act—leading to criminal charges and demonstrating the power of local journalism to seek justice for and protect the vulnerable.

WLRN News: “Miami City Manager’s Contracts Scandal”

Daniel Rivero and Josh Ceballos

WLRN journalists uncovered that Miami city manager Art Noriega had awarded over $440,000 in city contracts to his wife’s furniture company—including furnishings for his own city government office— without transparency, proper disclosure or ethical oversight. What began as a story about questionable procurement quickly expanded into a broader exposé of abuse of power, misrepresentation of public records and failure to guard against conflicts of interest. The investigation led to immediate accountability: the contracts were terminated; new rules now require employees to disclose conflicts of interest and voters approved the creation of an independent Inspector General’s office to investigate misconduct.

The Real Deal: “The Fall of the Alexander Brothers”

Katherine Kallergis, Sheridan Wall and Ellen Cranley

The Real Deal’s investigation looks into allegations of sex trafficking by luxury real estate brokers Tal and Oren Alexander, as well as Oren’s twin brother, Alon. The Real Deal was the first to report on the allegations in June 2024, prompting federal and state investigations and criminal charges against the brothers and multiple indictments, now involving seven victims. After their reporting on the brothers, who formerly brokered nine-figure deals for billionaires in New York and South Florida, Douglas Elliman, the real estate firm that employed two of the brothers, investigated the company’s work culture, an it’s CEO resigned.

Miami Herald: “Deal with the Devil”

Brittany Wallman and Sarah Blaskey

Thanks to a tip and relentless reporting, Miami Herald journalists produced a stunning investigation that uncovered how prosecutors in the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office brokered a secret immunity deal with a confessed killer responsible for four murders in one of the city’s deadliest shootings. In exchange for his work as a jailhouse informant, the confessed killer remained in the county jail, receiving favors and avoiding state prison. The grieving families of his victims were stonewalled for years, left in the dark and still searching for justice until the Herald uncovered the hidden agreement. As a result of the reporting, the killer was transferred to prison, a review of informant policies was put in place and the police reopened the original homicide investigation.