The 2026 duPont-Columbia Awards
Deeply Reported, Well Told.
In a special ceremony hosted by 60 Minutes Correspondent Scott Pelley and NPR Morning Edition Host Michel Martin, the duPont-Columbia Awards announced 15 Silver Baton winners and one Special Citation honoree.
The ceremony was held at the Lee C. Bollinger Forum at Columbia University in New York City.
The 2026 duPont-Columbia Awards Honorees
2000 Meters to Andriivka
FRONTLINE FEATURES, The Associated Press
In a conflict rife with high-tech tools, this gripping, immersive film set on Ukraine’s eastern front vividly portrayed the human cost and underscored another dimension–the futility and frustration of hand-to-hand combat and trench warfare.
60 Minutes: The Prisoners
CBS News
60 Minutes reporting revealed new information about the 238 Venezuelan migrants that the Trump administration sent to El Salvador’s CECOT prison in March 2025, including the fact that only one quarter of them had criminal records.
Can’t Look Away
Bloomberg News & DCTV
This carefully researched documentary followed a team of lawyers battling Snapchat, Meta, and YouTube to spotlight the devastating impact social media platforms have on teenagers and their families.
Dealing the Dead
NBC News
This year-long exposé revealed how medical institutions and body brokers dissected and sold the bodies of hundreds of unclaimed individuals–often poor, homeless, or mentally ill–without family consent or knowledge.
Driven to Death
KXAS-TV NBC, Dallas/Ft. Worth & Scott Friedman
A 14-month-long series investigated the high numbers of traffic fatalities in Dallas caused by major failures in street design and traffic enforcement, and then highlighted innovative solutions.
He was Officer “Champagne” at Rikers.
24 women accuse him of sexual assault in jail
WNYC & Gothamist
In this podcast episode, formerly incarcerated women from Rikers Island spoke for the first time about how the power imbalance in prison can lead to sexual assault, and how the resulting pain can live on long after the survivors have served their time.
Help that Harms
WXIA-TV & Rebecca Lindstrom, Atlanta
This shocking local investigative series exposed how well-intentioned medical professionals trained to detect child abuse can make assumptions that lead to innocent parents losing their children.
Homegrown
Storyline
A raw, behind-the-scenes look at the buildup of grievance and political passion fueling several right-wing activists through the 2020 campaign season culminated with the violent January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
Kids Under Fire in Gaza
Reveal, PRX | Fault Lines, Al Jazeera English
This podcast collaboration gathered the voices of doctors who witnessed disturbing patterns of children killed by gunfire during the war in Gaza, and examined the political factors that shield Israel from accountability.
Satellite Images Track Four Gaza Businesses Upended by War
Business Insider
Using innovative production techniques that combine satellite imagery, pre-war footage, and self-recorded content from Gaza, this short documentary highlighted the disastrous effects of the war on businesses and their owners.
Shielded
WXYZ-TV, Detroit & Ross Jones
A two-year-long local investigation exposed how disgraced police officers in Michigan were routinely offered jobs in neighboring departments, where they continued to abuse their power.
Social Security’s Secret
Cox Media Group | KFF Health News
Eight local TV stations joined together with KFF Health News to uncover how millions of Americans were forced to repay billions of dollars in Social Security overpayments, in many cases money they legitimately received from the government in the first place.
Surviving Ohio State
HBO Max
This feature-length documentary unraveled the complex story, bravely told by the male victims, of Dr. Richard Strauss, a physician and serial sex abuser employed for decades by The Ohio State University.
The Fall of Assad
PBS News Hour
This comprehensive series of deeply reported stories from across Syria added context about a country confronting deadly horrors perpetrated and hidden for decades by the Assad regime.
We Will Dance Again
Paramount+
This powerful documentary pieced together the minute-by-minute story of the October 7 Nova Festival terrorist attack, meticulously mapping hundreds of hours of video shot both by Hamas body cameras and by the victims themselves.
Special Citation: ABC News Presidential Debate
ABC News
The duPont Jury awards a Special Citation to ABC News for The ABC News Presidential Debate. In a unique electoral cycle, this singular production provided a vital opportunity–the only opportunity–for Americans to see these two candidates debate. The program was meticulously prepared, skillfully and fairly moderated, and most importantly, made widely and freely available to all networks and platforms, ensuring that it reached the greatest possible number of voters.