From top left: Susie Neilson (’19), Brian Howey (‘22), Garance Burke (’04), Sean Greene (’14), Serginho Roosblad (’18), Maggie Beidelman (’13), Singeli Agnew (’07) and Steven Rascón (‘22).
Investigations by five UC Berkeley Journalism alums have won top honors in the 2025 IRE Awards. The annual contest showcases exemplary work by members of Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) from the past year. Two other alums, who won a Pulitzer Prize for the same reporting, were named finalists.
Since 1979, the IRE Awards have recognized outstanding watchdog journalism by print, broadcast and online media. The committee selected this year’s winners, announced May 5, from more than 450 entries across 23 categories.
Brian Howey (’22) was on the team that won the IRE Medal for Outstanding Crime Reporting for “The Blue Wave and Chickengate: An investigative reporting team exposes new scandals at a notorious Mississippi sheriff’s department” published by Mississippi Today, Reveal, The New York Times and PRX. Others on the team include Najib Aminy, Sarah Cohen, Mukta Joshi, Jerry Mitchell, Steph Quinn, and Nate Rosenfield. Steven Rascón (’22) was associate producer of the Reveal episode.
San Francisco Chronicle reporter Susie Neilson (’19) and colleagues Megan Fan Munce and Sara DiNatale won the Regional Outstanding Print/Online category for “Burned,” which examines how insurance company practices have failed California fire survivors. The series, which also won the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting, was done with the support of more than a dozen colleagues, including visuals editor Maggie Beidelman (’13).
Singeli Agnew (’07) was on the team that won in the category of Outstanding International Video for Fault Lines’ “Kids Under Fire” for Al Jazeera English. Others on the team include: Amel Guettatfi, Josh Rushing, Laila Al-Arian, Mohammed Ibaida, Hussien Jaber, Omer Zineldeen, Mahmoud Kulab, Yousuf Alsaifi, Adrienne Haspel and Mehr Sher.
Sean Greene (’14) was on the team that won in the Investigations Triggered by Breaking News category for “L.A. Firestorms: The First 30 Days” for The Los Angeles Times. Others named in the award are Terry Castleman, Nathan Fenno, Melody Gutierrez, Matt Hamilton, Ian James, Vanessa Martínez, Brittny Mejia, Paul Pringle, Dakota Smith, Paige St. John, Alene Tchekmedyian, Grace Toohey, David Zahniser, Noah Haggerty, Ruben Vives, Richard Winton, Cindy Chang, Shelby Grad, Monte Morin, Carla Rivera, Sandhya Kambhampati, Lorena Iñiguez Elebee and Hanna Sender.
Garance Burke (’04), global investigative journalist at The Associated Press, shared the finalist honor in the International Outstanding Print/Online category with colleagues Dake Kang, Byron Tau, Aniruddha Ghosal and Yael Grauer for “Made in America, Watched Worldwide.” The Associated Press investigation exposed government surveillance in China, the U.S. and beyond — and the role that U.S. tech firms play in it. The series won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. AP video producer Serginho Roosblad (’18) contributed reporting.
“This year’s contest shows just how vital investigative journalism is here at home and around the globe,” said IRE Contest Committee Chair Walter Smith Randolph in an announcement. “As newsrooms shrink and threats to press freedom increase, we must stay dedicated to holding the powerful accountable and exposing wrongdoing, and that’s exactly what our winners and finalists did through their reporting over the past year. From tracking an international poisonous lead trade to challenging life-threatening practices at federal agencies, this year’s contest shows our work is needed now more than ever.”
The awards will be presented at the 2026 IRE Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, on Friday, June 19, during a luncheon.
Faculty and alums speaking at the IRE Conference include:
Professor Jennifer LaFleur
Master the power of mapping with QGIS
Saturday, 2:30 pm, Maryland 5-6
Susie Neilson (’19)
Investigative Reporter, the San Francisco Chronicle
Gossip, group chats and encrypted drives: How to root out non-public records and keep sources safe
Friday 4:00 PM · 1h · Maryland C
Susan Ferriss (’87) Senior Editor at the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting,
& Zhe Wu (’23) Reporter at The San Francisco Public Press
Investigating global health crises that hit home
Saturday, 9:00 am, National Harbor 3
Cynthia Dizikes (’08) and Joaquin Palomino (’15)
San Francisco Chronicle Investigative Reporters
Following the money, power and patients in hospitals
Saturday, 11:30 am, Maryland B
Leah Rosenbaum (’19)
Investigative Reporter, The War Horse
Reporting on the US military: beyond the headlines
Friday 5:15 PM · 1h · National Harbor 10
Sukey Lewis (’15)
Investigative reporter, KQED
Driveway moments: crafting stories that stop listeners in their tracks
Thursday 3:45 PM · 1h · National Harbor 11
Brian Howey (’22)
The Bell Project
Evolving narratives in audio storytelling about crime
Friday 11:30 AM · 1h · Maryland C
Bringing collaborative investigations to life across print and audio
Friday 4:00 PM · 1h · National Harbor 11
Gisselle Medina (’24)
Fresnoland
Immigration by the numbers – the data sets defining Trump’s deportation agenda
Friday 11:30 AM · 1h · Maryland 3-4
Upcoming Events
24 Jun
Sacramento Alumni Meetup
