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Insight Award for Explanatory Journalism

2025 Nonprofit News Awards

Honors a single story or a series of explanatory reporting that provides insight and understanding of a significant and complex subject.

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Insight Award for Explanatory Journalism – Micro division

The Margin

After Allen Field: Lessons from Houston’s Mandatory Buyout Program by Amal Ahmed, Ko Bragg, Danielle Villasana

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Harris County, Texas — which includes Houston — implemented a mandatory flood control buyout program. The Margin’s reporting examines the equity questions and other issues that arose in that effort to remove people from the flood plain. They also captured how the relocation programs damaged social ties and community well-being, and they explored the potential implications for future storm recovery efforts. 

The meticulous reporting “looked gorgeous,” one judge wrote. The online presentation included interactive components and “compelling” individual perspectives that humanized the story, they said. The judge also noted the urgency of the subject matter and said it is “broadly applicable to other places in our country and world that will be confronted by the ravages of our changing climate.”

Read the Winning Work

After Allen: Field Lessons from Houston’s Mandatory Buyout Program

Finalists

Insight Award for Explanatory Journalism – Small division

MindSite News and palabra

Silent Battles / Luchas Invisibles

Many immigrants experience trauma tied to the threats that may have led them to flee their home countries, the experiences of their journeys, and the challenges they face upon arrival in the United States. In the reported series Silent Battles / Luchas Invisibles, MindSite News and palabra, a multimedia platform from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, focus on the mental health of immigrant and refugee communities in the U.S. 

Judges praised the writing and reporting of the series, describing it as deeply researched and “first-rate in every way” and saying it “merits the highest achievement awards.” 

“This series stands out for how clearly and thoughtfully it explains the mental health impact of immigration policies on Latino communities,” a judge said. “It goes beyond stereotypes and shows the complexity of people’s lives, with empathy and respect.”

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Silent Battles: In Chicago, Immigrants Who Fled Violence and War Struggle With Their Mental Health 

Luchas Invisibles: En Chicago, inmigrantes que huyeron de la violencia lidian con sus traumas y con su salud mental

Silent Battles: ‘The Fear Cut Through My Family’: Alarm Over Trump’s Return Sparks Deep Anxiety Among Chicago Immigrants 

Luchas Invisibles: Resurgen los fantasmas de la deportación

Silent Battles: Chicago Advocates and Clinicians Come Together to Support Mental Health of Immigrants in Peril 

Luchas Invisibles: Activistas y clínicos de Chicago unen fuerzas para apoyar la salud mental de inmigrantes)

Silent Battles: ‘What if one day you leave and don’t come back?’

Luchas Invisibles: “¿Y si un día te vas y no vuelves?”

Finalists

Insight Award for Explanatory Journalism – Medium division

The Imprint

Medicated in Foster Care: Who’s Looking Out? by Michael Fitzgerald, Jeremy Loundenback, Susanti Sarkar

Youth in foster care are much more likely than their peers to be prescribed psychotropic medication, drugs used to treat mental illnesses. And despite bipartisan legislation that requires state child agencies to develop and report protocols for using and monitoring those drugs, at least 10 states have not complied — an issue highlighted in a reported series by The Imprint. The Imprint reviewed policies and class-action lawsuits for all 50 states and uncovered “spotty enforcement of federal requirements that child welfare agencies monitor psychotropic prescriptions for foster youth.”

“This series is groundbreaking work that tackles a difficult subject in depth,” a judge said. Another judge praised the reporting and urged The Imprint to continue reporting on the topic “because getting impact for these kids matters.”

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Medicated in Foster Care: Who’s Looking Out

‘All I Did Was Sleep’: Despite Years of Damning Reports, States Across the Country Fail To Rein in Psych Meds for Foster Youth 

New York City Stands Out as a Rare Local Agency Tallying Foster Youth on Psychotropics. What Do the Numbers Reveal? 

Prescribing Psychiatric Drugs to California Foster Youth: ‘It’s the Job of All Who Are Involved’ 

Zombies No More: Former Foster Youth Reflect on Their Medicated Childhoods — and New Ways They Heal 

‘All I Wanted is To Be Healed’: Alternatives to Psych Meds for Foster Youth With Mental Health Issues

A Detailed Window Into State Policies on Psychotropic Prescribing

Finalists

Insight Award for Explanatory Journalism – Large division

The Marshall Project

The Hardest Case for Mercy by Joe Sexton

“Making the case for mercy in a death penalty case is a constitutional requirement. But for those who deliver on that mandate, making the case for a killer to be spared can be challenging.”

That’s one of Joe Sexton’s takeaways from The Marshall Project’s investigation into efforts to convince a jury to spare a mass killer from the death penalty. The reporting focuses on the defense team of Nikolas Cruz, who shot dead 17 people and wounded 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. Sexton’s reporting delves into Cruz’s life and includes insights from Florida legislators as well as experts on fetal alcohol poisoning and death penalty cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Judges praised the project as “unforgettable” and “remarkable.” One judge said the reporting will be required reading for their class. Another said, “I will be processing everything that this story made me feel and think about for a long time to come.”

Sexton was a 2025 Pulitzer Prize finalist in journalism for feature writing for this story.

Read the Winning Work

The Hardest Case for Mercy

Finalists

  • International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and partners, Caspian Cabals, Staff
  • Honolulu Civil Beat, Guardians of the Deep, Nathan Eagle, April Estrellon, Kawika Lopez
  • The Connecticut Mirror, Priced Out, Jenna Carlesso, Dave Altimari, Katy Golvala, Andrew Brown

2025 Nonprofit News Awards

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