Awards

The David Lynch Regional Reporting Award is given annually to a Washington-based daily print reporter. It recognizes excellence in coverage of Congress from a regional perspective and work that best exemplifies David Lynch's thorough and incisive regional news coverage of Congress, and the insight his writing provided into how actions on Capitol Hill have a direct impact on local communities and their citizens.

The Crystal Candlestick Award honors the women heroes of newsrooms who, through their leadership, have helped create opportunities for women, journalists of color and other underrepresented groups and continue to improve coverage of marginalized communities. Now accepting nominations through December 31, 2025. Click here

ABOUT THE AWARD

In 1964, the Women's National Press Club, the predecessor to the Washington Press Club Foundation, presented the first Eleanor Roosevelt Golden Candlestick Award to honor "an American woman whose contribution to humanity has been carried out in the selfless tradition of Mrs. Roosevelt."

Roosevelt believed women should speak out on important world and national issues and that a woman's perspective should be represented in the media. While first lady she established herself as a magazine journalist and a member of the Women's National Press Club, publishing articles that served as an example that women's voices mattered. To honor Roosevelt's work as a champion of equal representation, the Women's National Press Club created the Golden Candlestick Award.

In a nod to Roosevelt's commitment, the Washington Press Club Foundation will award the Crystal Candlestick to a woman shattering glass ceilings and transforming today's newsrooms and news coverage to reflect the diversity of the broader public.

Eligible Nominees:
A woman in a managerial or executive role currently employed at a U.S. newspaper, magazine, wire service, network or cable station, radio, podcast or news site that publishes regularly.

Criteria for Nomination:
A woman, in a managerial position, who is effecting changes in her newsroom by:

-Improving gender, ethnic and socioeconomic diversity in both hiring practices and in how stories are reported.
-Providing leadership to ensure increased diversity and inclusiveness rises into the highest tiers of news media management.
-Changing the culture of the newsroom to establish greater opportunities for a diverse staff and broader diversity in news coverage.
-Empowers her staff.

Required materials for nomination submissions
- A resume of the nominee
-A statement of nomination written by a colleague, no more than 350 words, to support how the nominee fulfills the criteria of this award.
-A list, between 3 to 10 bullet points, of the nominee’s major accomplishments
-Contact information for 3 people willing to comment on support of this nomination. These three individuals should be current or past employees of the nominee.