2026 Lynch Award for Regional Reporting on Congress
ANNUAL CALL FOR ENTRIES
Eligibility: Stories and reports published November 10, 2025 through November 8, 2026
Deadline for entering: Friday, November 13, 2026 at 5:00 p.m.
The Lynch Award is administered by the Washington Press Club Foundation and the Congressional Standing Committee of Correspondents. It goes annually to a Washington-based daily reporter to recognize excellence in coverage of Congress from a regional perspective. Both congressional and regional elements are required. The contest is open to any reporter for a daily newspaper, online publication, radio or television broadcaster or news service who qualifies for membership in the Congressional press galleries.
The Award: $3,000 and recognition at the Washington Press Club Foundation’s annual dinner.
Judging Standards: “Regional reporting” is work that sheds light on the inner workings of Congress – especially the local delegation – and shows how actions on Capitol Hill affect the local community. Judges will look for thorough and incisive regional coverage of Congress. They will look for clear, engaging reporting and an explanation of difficult and complex subjects to a hometown audience. Coverage of House and Senate election campaigns are eligible.
How to Enter: Entries must be submitted using the entry form by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 13, 2026. There are no exceptions. Late entries will not be considered. Link to enter: https://forms.gle/oW9RiTG5R77a5LjD9
This will require a Google account to submit your entries directly to the form.
If you do not have one, please email Nicole_DeJacimo@saa.senate.gov to submit your entry.
You may submit up to four stories or reports as PDFs or videos using the Google link above. Each submission must include the publication date and proof that it appeared in a daily news product. A majority of the submissions must be single-byline stories, however beginning this year, applicants may include one story with multiple bylines, provided that you, the applicant, completed the majority of the work. This award recognizes the individual Washington-based Congressional correspondent applying for the award, not a team of reporters. If you have any technical difficulties submitting your entry, please contact Nicole DeJacimo.
David Lynch Award For Excellence in Congressional Reporting
Congratulations to Melissa Nann Burke of The Detroit News, 2025 David Lynch Award winner for Regional Reporters
The judges praised her well-rounded package of stories with a clear local impact. Melissa’s reporting brought home to a local audience what goes on in Washington through her depth of sources, use of data and explanations of complicated topics.
The judges liked all the articles Melissa wrote but two in particular stood out. One was her exposé of Representative Shri Thanedar's use of an arcane professional privilege to promote himself while in the midst of a competitive primary campaign, a well-balanced look at how the congressman claims to prioritize constituent service but is spending taxpayer money in ways that could deprive them of needed assistance. The other was her well-written and deeply reported exit profile of now retired Senator Debbie Stabenow that excellently captured the policies she fought for on behalf of Michigan and gave even readers familiar with the former senator something new to learn.
The David Lynch Memorial Reporting Award is given annually to a Washington-based daily print reporter. It recognizes excellence in coverage of Congress from a regional perspective. Both the congressional link and the regional element are required.
David Lynch covered Washington -- with an emphasis on Congress -- for the Buffalo News and for the Griffin-Larrabee Bureau, which served daily newspapers in New England, Alaska and South Carolina. Later, he ran a one-man bureau, with daily newspaper clients in Iowa and Nebraska.
He was a longtime member of the House and Senate Press Galleries. He served on the Standing Committee of Correspondents, which is elected by reporters to administer the Galleries. Gallery members and David's widow, Debra Strauss Lynch, created the award after David's death in 1998.
Donations from David's colleagues in journalism, his personal friends and his family are the source of funding for the award. The award trust fund and the award ceremony are managed by the Washington Press Club Foundation. The Standing Committee of Correspondents manages the judging.