The New Yorker’s Jon Lee Anderson and ProPublica’s Andy Kroll Win 2025 George Polk Awards

Two journalists, Jon Lee Anderson of The New Yorker and Andy Kroll of ProPublica, have been honored with 2025 George Polk Awards for their impactful reporting. The awards, announced on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, by Long Island University, recognize excellence in journalism and are among the highest honors in the field .

Reporting on Congo’s Protracted Conflict

Jon Lee Anderson received the Sydney Schanberg Prize for his in-depth reporting on the decades-long conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. His work sheds light on a brutal and entrenched conflict fueled by regional and global actors, which has resulted in an estimated six million deaths due to violence, displacement, disease, and famine . Anderson’s reporting, which included travel to Congo and neighboring Rwanda, provides historical context and examines contemporary factors contributing to the bloodshed, including ethnic rivalries and international competition for resources .

Exposing Political Influence and the Dismantling of Federal Agencies

Andy Kroll was awarded the Polk Award for political reporting for his profile of Russell Vought, a key architect of Project 2025 and former director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. Kroll’s reporting, co-published with ProPublica, details Vought’s efforts to dismantle federal agencies, reduce the federal workforce, and expand presidential power in ways that challenge constitutional norms . The profile traces Vought’s rise within the Trump administration and highlights his expertise in navigating legislative processes to achieve sweeping changes .

The Legacy of the George Polk Awards

The George Polk Awards were established in 1949 to commemorate CBS correspondent George Polk, who was murdered while reporting on the Greek civil war . The awards recognize investigative and enterprising journalism that attracts attention and achieves results. The 2025 recipients were selected from 492 entries by a panel of journalists and educators . The awards will be presented at a ceremony on April 10th . The New Yorker has now received a total of thirty Polk Awards, with James Baldwin winning the first for the magazine in 1949 .