Ghanaian Times Journalist Wins Two Honors at Merck Foundation Media Awards
May 22, 2026
Turkish Journalist Alican Uludağ Released From Prison as Trial Continues
May 22, 2026
May 22, 2026 – USA –
A student investigative journalism project examining Nebraska’s overcrowded and understaffed prison system has received the College Journalism Award at the 2026 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Book and Journalism Awards. The award-winning project, titled “Nebraska Behind Bars,” was produced by 11 students from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications.
The project focused on conditions inside Nebraska’s nine prisons, including overcrowding, staffing shortages, mental health concerns, and the experiences of incarcerated individuals and their families. Students spent months conducting interviews, gathering data, and documenting the human impact of the state’s prison crisis through written stories, multimedia features, and documentary reporting.
The reporting initiative was developed during a spring 2025 investigative depth-reporting course taught by journalism professors Chris Graves and Linda White. Faculty members praised the students for their dedication and commitment to covering complex social justice issues involving incarceration and prison reform. White said the students worked diligently to produce a broad range of stories examining important public concerns, while Graves described the recognition as a reflection of the students’ determination and journalistic rigor.
The Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards recognize outstanding reporting focused on human rights and social justice. The 2026 honor marked the fourth time a depth-reporting project from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln received a Kennedy award and the second time in five years. Previous award-winning projects from the journalism college included “Being Black in Lincoln” in 2022 and “The Wounds of Whiteclay: Nebraska’s Shameful Legacy” in 2017.
“Nebraska Behind Bars” also earned several other regional and national honors before receiving the Kennedy award. The project received recognition from the Investigative Reporters and Editors awards, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association, and the Hearst Journalism Awards Program. Individual stories and documentaries connected to the project focused on mental health services, prison staffing shortages, and conditions experienced by incarcerated individuals.
The award has renewed attention on the role of student investigative journalism in covering public-interest issues often overlooked by larger media organizations. Media educators and journalism advocates have increasingly highlighted university reporting projects as important contributors to accountability journalism and in-depth reporting on social inequality, criminal justice, and human rights concerns.
Reference –
http://readme.readmedia.com/-Nebraska-Behind-Bars-wins-Kennedy-Journalism-Award/merit-202490
https://news.unl.edu/article/nebraska-behind-bars-wins-kennedy-journalism-award
