Steven Coll ’91
Then: reporter, The Washington Post
Now: president and ceo, The New America Foundation; author

“Working from New Delhi, reporting about the structures of political violence in the Third World, you sometimes felt as if you were writing for your relatives, several editors, and a few exiles who combed the newspaper in order to write emotional letters about your wrongheaded interpretations of history. News of winning the award helped convince me, in a time of doubting, that I could afford to stick with the complicated and obscure subject I cared about most. In that sense, it was probably more important than any honor that ever came my way.”

Steven Erlanger ’81
Then: reporter, The Boston Globe
Now: foreign correspondent and bureau chief in Paris, The New York Times

“Winning the first Livingston Award for international reporting was an enormous injection of self-confidence. I was an editor, really, who had convinced the nice people at The Boston Globe to let me do some serious reporting. The award was a kind of ratification of my real goal: to be a foreign correspondent.”

Cathy Frye ’03
Then: reporter, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Now: reporter, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

“Winning the Livingston Award gave me new confidence as a reporter. I’ve always believed in my stories. But to receive that kind of affirmation from such a respected, noteworthy group of journalists—well, I still get goose bumps when remembering the day I got that phone call.”

Tom Hallman ’84
Then: reporter, The Oregonian
Now: senior reporter, The Oregonian

“The Livingston Award was a remarkable award. It came at the right time in my career by giving me the confidence to believe in myself and my abilities.”

Jennifer Gonnerman ’00
Then: reporter, The Village Voice
Now: contributing editor, New York Magazine; author

Winning the Livingston Award felt like a huge confidence boost just when I needed it most. The spectacular luncheon, the impressive crowd, the kind words about my work—all of it gave me a giant jolt of encouragement that has sustained me for years.

Ira Glass ’87
Then: producer, NPR
Now: executive producer and host, “This American Life,” WBEZ, Chicago

“It was exciting to win the Livingston. I was a behind-the-scenes NPR-type in Washington and ended up at this fancy lunch in New York with famous people from TV. After leaving “All Things Considered” I went to work for myself. So I could never use the award to get a job…The Livingston Award was handy in the bigger, more emotional way.”

Barry Siegel ’83
Then: national correspondent, Los Angeles Times
Now: professor of English and director of the Literary Journalism program, University of California, Irvine

“Roaming the country as a newly-minted national correspondent, trying to claim and define an uncommon assignment—to write long form narratives about complex, nuanced matters, far from the news of the day—left me often feeling isolated. Winning the Livingston provided the vital affirmation just when I most needed it. It gave me a kind of standing, and encouraged me to keep at my type of journalism.”

Alexis Muellner ’87
Then: producer, NPR
Now: editor, Tampa Bay Business Journal

“I felt lucky and amazed to be winning the Livingston Award. It certainly provided confidence having won accolades from such experienced journalists, but it also has long been a source of inspiration to forever resist mediocrity that can so often infiltrate day to day news careers.”

Michele Norris ’89
Then: staff writer, The Washington Post
Now: host, “All Things Considered,” NPR

“I was awarded a Livingston after spending weeks living in a crack house to examine the drug trade’s impact on young children. To have some of the journalists I admired most reward that work encouraged me to follow my instincts wherever they took me. The Livingston Award is so dear to my heart. It’s the one award I keep in my office, always within my line of sight. ”

Peter Zuckerman ’05
Then: reporter, Post Register (Idaho Falls, ID)
Now: reporter, The Oregonian

“The Livingston Award catapulted me from a tiny newspaper in eastern Idaho to the largest daily in the northwest. It transformed my life by showing me what’s possible.”

Evan Osnos ’06
Then: Beijing bureau chief, Chicago Tribune
Now: Beijing bureau chief, Chicago Tribune

“The Livingston is unique in American journalism: the chance for those who have accomplished so much in the business they love to give the next generation a vote of confidence. Among young journalists, winning the Livingston is an honor like nothing else. The Livingston judges represent the top of the profession, but when they gather to celebrate the winners, the atmosphere is of an extended family.”

David Remnick ’90
Then: Moscow correspondent, The Washington Post
Now: editor, The New Yorker

“Not all awards have a clear meaning but the Livingston does and it meant the world to me. To be recognized by the generation just ahead of you, and to know who had won the award before and where they had gone after, was the best kind of encouragement anyone could get. More than ten years later, I remain deeply grateful.”