Entry deadline for the 2015 Al Nakkula Award for outstanding police reporting is March 9, 2015. Late entries will not be accepted. The award is co-sponsored by the University of Colorado College of Media, Communication and Information and the Denver Press Club.
Entries should take the form of a story or series about one topic and/or event. They must be in electronic form, submitted toÌýbuffjournalism@gmail.com. Entries should include PDFs of the relevant stories or urls (if readily available to multiple judges regardless of paywall). Please also attach a cover letter of nomination, which may be from the entrant and/or his/her sponsoring publication.
The entry fee is $75 and the first-place prize is $2,000. The award is for work produced in print and/or online platforms in the United States in 2014. The winner will be invited to speak to classes at the University of Colorado College of Media, Communication and Information on Thursday, April 23, 2015 and to accept the award at the Denver Press Club’s Damon Runyon dinner on April 24, 2015. The second-place finisher will receive a certificate of merit. Sorry, this award is not for broadcast work.
The Nakkula Award is named for the late Al Nakkula, a 46-year veteran of the Rocky Mountain News, whose bulldog tenacity made him a legendary police reporter.
For questions please call Michelle P. Fulcher, 303-492-0460 or 303-809-0500.
Past Winners
2014 Winner:
Reporter Megan O’Matz and Database Editor John Maines
South Florida Sun Sentinel
2013 Winner:
Ryan Gabrielson
Center for Investigative Reporting’s California Watch
2012 Winner:
Gina Barton
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
2011 Winner:Ìý
Cris Barrish
2010 Winner:
Mark Puente
2009 Winner:
Karyn Spencer
2008 Winner:
Jonathan Schuppe
2007 Winner:
Robert Rogers
2006 Winner:
John Diedrich
2005 Winner:
Amber Hunt Martin
2004 Winner:
Del Quentin Wilber
2003 Winner:
Stacy Finz
2002 Winner:
Stephanie Warsmith
2001 Winner:
Brigid O’Malley
Second Place
Vanessa Ho
2000 Winner:
Tom Searls
Second Place
Dawn Hobbs
1999 Winner:
Sean Gardiner
.
1998 Winner:
Mark Truby
1997 Winner:
Andy Furillo
1996 Winner:
Pamela Hill
1995 Winner:
Melvin Claxton
1994 Winner:
William Hermann
1993 Winner:
J.D. Mullane
1992 Winner:
Scott Bowles
1991 Winner:
Diana K. Sugg