Center for Integrity in News Reporting Award of Excellence—Tennessee
“To give news impartially, without fear or favor.”
— Adolph Ochs, 1858-1935
Publisher, New York Times 1896-1935
DEADLINE TO ENTER: THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2026
Tennessee is one of 14 states to receive a $5,000 award for integrity in news reporting. The Prize will recognize best example of impartial, objective and fair news reporting Funded by the Center for Integrity in News Reporting through a three-year $210,000 grant from the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association Foundation, this new award will recognize trustworthy news reporting in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.
The Center for Integrity in News Reporting Award of Excellence—Tennessee recognizes news reporting based on verifiable facts, balanced perspectives, neutral tone/language, transparency and thoroughness of sourcing, while excluding opinion and emotional appeals.
Entry Requirements/How to Enter
One entry allowed per TPA member newspaper or member online publication. Entries may include one reported news story or a full series by the same reporter or reporting team on a single topic.
Publication Period: Entries must have been published between Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2025.
Entries may be emailed to mmillsap@tnpress.com with the subject line CFINR Entry. You may submit PDFs of tearsheets or links to stories. If submitting links, please include login credentials for the judge to access your website. Please include the name of the reporter(s) in your entry email.
Judging Criteria
Accuracy and fact-checking
• All factual claims should be supported by evidence.
• Information has been verified through multiple independent and reliable sources.
Balance and Multiple Perspectives
• On complex issues, the report should present multiple viewpoints without favoring one.
• The amount of attention given to different sides should be proportional to the weight of the issue.
Neutral Language and Tone
• The language used should be objective and informative, not sensationalized, or emotionally charged.
• The report should avoid loaded adjectives, adverbs, or framing that tell the reader how to interpret the facts or feelings.
Sourcing and Transparency
• Reporters should clearly identify their sources, ideally with verifiable details (e.g., name, position, institution) rather than vague references like “leading doctors say.”
Separation of News and Opinion
• The entry must be a straight news report and not an editorial, opinion piece, or column.
Completeness and Context
• The entry should provide enough context and background information for the audience to understand the broader implications of the story.
• It should cover “the whole story,” not just the parts of a story that support a particular narrative.
Prize
The CFINR Award of Excellence, is a $5,000 cash prize. The $5,000 prize will be awarded directly to the reporter(s), not the news organization.
The statewide winner and recipient(s) of the cash prize will be announced by a representative of CFINR at the Tennessee Press Association Awards Luncheon.
About the Center for Integrity in News Reporting (CFINR)
The Center for Integrity in News Reporting was created to address the public’s declining trust in news reporting. Gallup polls show that trust, which was around 70 percent in the 1970s, has now fallen to 28 percent. CFINR aims to improve public trust by encouraging and rewarding impartial, objective, and fair journalism. By recognizing exemplary reporting, CFINR hopes to restore the standards that once earned widespread trust.
CFINR was founded in 2024 by Walter E. Hussman, Jr., chairman of WEHCO Media, Inc., which operates eleven daily newspapers and cable television companies across six states. CFINR is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, governed by a Board of Trustees, all of whom have extensive news experience.
About the SNPA Foundation
The SNPA Foundation was established in 1968 to provide educational programs for newspaper members of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association (SNPA). Since its inception, the SNPA Foundation’s seminars, webinars, literacy programs and Traveling Campus have reached more than 100,000 newspaper employees.
CONTACT: Call Mark Millsap at (865) 584-5761 ext. 106 or email mmillsap@tnpress.com with questions.