Nominations Now Open for Annual “Izzy Award” for Independent Media

By Hannah Brooks, December 5, 2023

For the 16th year, the Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College (PCIM) will present the Izzy Award — named after legendary journalist I. F. “Izzy” Stone — for outstanding achievement in independent media. Nominations are now open for work produced during the 2023 calendar year to be considered for the award.

The Izzy Award is given annually to an independent media outlet or individual journalist or producer who publish their work on an independent, non-corporate outlet or their individual platform.

Please note that work published or broadcast by a mainstream, commercial, or conglomerated media outlet is not eligible — including if it was produced by a nonprofit/independent journalism organization. Work produced by a nonprofit/independent journalism organization and published or broadcast by an independent, non-commercial, non-conglomerated media outlet is eligible. 

Journalists, academics, and the public at large may submit nominations until midnight EST on Monday, January 29, 2024. The winner or winners will be announced in spring, with an award ceremony to follow in April 2024. 

Nominations should include 300-350 words or less explaining why the entry is worthy of consideration. They should include supporting web links (no more than 5) and/or attached materials. Address your submissions to Raza Rumi, director of PCIM, at pcim@ithaca.edu.

Izzy Award recipients are chosen by a panel of independent judges with expertise in independent media. Past winners include Amy Goodman, Tim Schwab, Naomi Klein, John Carlos Frey, Todd Miller, Laura Flanders, and Sharif Abdel Kouddous and independent news sources such as Truthout, Earth Island Journal, and Inside Climate News.

Last year’s award was presented on April 27 to nonprofit news outlets The Lever and Mississippi Free Press, and journalists Carlos Ballesteros and Liza Gross.