Young America’s Foundation and the National Journalism Center handed out the inaugural award in 2023, and a year later, Investigative Reporter Gabe Kaminsky returned to the ceremony as a finalist, along with Immigration Reporter Anna Giaritelli. 

The award for investigative journalism is awarded to journalists who stand out for “accuracy and courage” during a time when “trust in media hovers near record lows.” 

Kaminsky, who has been with the Washington Examiner for two years, received a runner-up award for his ongoing coverage of “Bidenbucks: How Democrats Weaponize Elections With Left-Wing Dark Money Allies,” including:

DOCUMENTS SHED LIGHT ON BIDEN WHITE HOUSE MEETING ON VOTER REGISTRATION WITH LEFT-WING ACTIVISTS

INSIDE THE LEFT-WING DARK MONEY VOTER TURNOUT OPERATION TARGETING VULNERABLE PATIENTS

Giaritelli, who interned for the Washington Examiner in 2010 and has been covering the border and immigration issues since 2018 also received a runner-up award “for her ongoing coverage of the immigration crisis.” Some of that work this year includes:

BORDER AGENTS TOLD TO RELEASE MIGRANTS INTO US DESPITE BIDEN ASYLUM BAN

TOP BORDER PATROL OFFICIALS SAY BIDEN APPOINTEES SILENCED THEM FOR YEARS

THE BIDEN EFFECT? BORDER PATROL HAS LOST A QUARTER OF WORKFORCE SINCE 2020 ELECTION

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION SHIFTS AWAY FROM TEXAS AFTER ABBOTT LOCKS DOWN BORDER: DATA

BIDEN’S BORDER SEES NEARLY HALF A MILLION IMMIGRANT CHILDREN ARRIVE WITHOUT A PARENT

The first place award was given to Susan Crabtree of RealClearPolitics for her reporting on the Secret Service lapses and failures leading up to and following the failed assassination attempt against President-elect Donald Trump on the campaign trail.