The Burl Osborne Award honors the legacy of the former editor and publisher of the Dallas Morning News by recognizing outstanding reporting on social justice and human rights. The winning entries will identify obstacles to social justice and threats to human rights in Texas, explain the mechanisms that allow the situations to fester and explore public policies and programs as well as private endeavors that might help foster change.
In making their decisions, judges will pay special attention to the resources available to the journalists doing the work. Taking on difficult, entrenched social problems with courage and toughness will carry the day. A single story done with skill and integrity has as good a chance of winning as the most expansive, polished report. Winning work can come in the form of visual, written or audio storytelling, and well-reported editorials or columns will be considered. Entries are now being accepted through February 10.
Contest Rules
For the Osborne award, submissions must:
Be from a professional Texas-based news provider – print, broadcast or digital – that distributes at least monthly and adheres to the highest journalistic principles. Also eligible are Texas-based journalists whose organizations have permanent news bureaus in Texas. The Headliners Foundation reserves the right to determine who meets such criteria.
Be originally published/aired between Jan. 1, 2024, and Dec. 31, 2024. Follow-up stories published in the following year that show impact of reporting or add new relevant information may be included.
Be limited to three entries per organization. Each entry may include up to three stories or elements. If elements were produced in partnership with other news organizations, please specify how the work was divided.
Broadcast and podcast entries may not exceed 90 minutes. If the original work exceeded 90 minutes, the submitting organization may enter the first episode; a second, most representative episode; some combination of first and most representative episodes; or an edited overview of the entire work.
Be submitted by qualifying news organizations or reporters, editors and other members of the professional media community.
Provide an active link to a PDF format or online page that can be publicly accessed without a paywall or registration and which remains active through the year following initial publication.
Be submitted by the posted entry deadline.
Judges reserve the right to determine the appropriate category (investigative or storytelling) for any entry.
The Headliners Foundation encourages media partnerships in developing important journalism projects; however, formal entries for Showcase must be restricted to the work of the entering organization and not include stories done by outside partners.
Judging and Awards
Winners of the Osborne award will be announced in the spring after the year of initial publication and will be honored at the Foundation’s Mike Quinn Awards Luncheon in the fall. These awards will be in addition to the awards presented each year by the Foundation in partnership with the Texas Association of Broadcasters (TAB) and the Texas Managing Editors (TME). Media outlets that take part in the TAB and TME competitions are also eligible for the Showcase Award and runner-up prizes, but must enter the Showcase competition separately and comply with the rules of the Showcase Award contest.
Submitting an entry for this award is easy:
Entries are accepted during the specified entry period and must be submitted by the published deadline. Entries may be submitted by qualifying news organizations or reporters, editors and other members of the professional media community. If an organization transmits more than three entries during the contest period, it will be asked to select a maximum of three for final judging. Winning entries will be posted in the Showcase section of the Headliners Foundation website.
Complete the submission form. Be sure to include your contact information, entry details with a link to your story or package of stories, videos and other elements. Your link must be active, or you must provide login credentials for the judges.
There is no entry fee.
The Showcase Gold winning entry in each category will receive a $2,000 cash prize to be distributed among up to five journalists. The Showcase Silver winner entries in each category will receive a $1,000 cash prize to be distributed among up to five journalists.
If your reporting continues after submitting your entry, you may update it.
We take pride in honoring and showcasing the best journalism in Texas, by Texas journalists. We look forward to seeing your great work!
Policy for Professional Excellence Programs with Cash Awards
The Foundation believes it essential to reward journalists directly for their work. Awards are made payable to an individual or, when a team produced the entry, each of the key members (maximum 5). In the event a media outlet disallows such direct payments to journalists, the money will instead be utilized by the Foundation to fund journalism education. Award winners will still receive non-monetary recognition from the Foundation.”