A photographer for Deseret News has received the National Press Club’s News Photography Award, a prestigious honor recognizing visual journalism that captures news events of public significance. The award celebrates photojournalists whose work informs and deepens public understanding through powerful storytelling and technical excellence.
About the prestigious award
The News Photography Award is part of the National Press Club's broader journalism awards program, which honors professional journalists for outstanding work in service of the public. According to the National Press Club, winners are selected based on their ability to convey context, emotion, and meaning through photography while demonstrating journalistic rigor.
Judging criteria and quality standards
Judges evaluating entries for the award look for specific indicators of quality, including individual enterprise, fairness, accuracy, and objectivity. For the News Photography Award specifically, judges give particular consideration to images that reflect original reporting, timeliness, and public impact, as well as the photographer's ability to tell a compelling story visually.
Competition timeline and editing rules
The competition for the 2026 Journalism Awards concluded earlier this year, with winners being announced in June. The award process involves strict standards regarding image integrity and editing. To remain eligible, photographs must accurately reflect the scene as it occurred.
Permitted technical image adjustments
While minor technical adjustments such as cropping, dodging, burning, minor color correction, or the removal of dust and scratches are permitted, any manipulation intended to add or remove elements from the original image results in disqualification. The National Press Club requires that entrants submit digital copies of photographs exactly as they were originally published in print, online, or broadcast media.
Overview of journalism award categories
The News Photography Award is one of 15 different categories within the National Press Club Journalism Awards program. Other notable categories include the Breaking News Awards, the Washington Correspondence Award, and the Michael A. Dornheim Award for Aerospace, Defense, and Aviation Reporting.
Eligibility requirements for the cycle
Eligibility for the 2026 awards cycle required that all submitted entries had appeared in news media between January 1 and December 31, 2025. The program is open to professional photojournalists working for news organizations or those publishing through syndication platforms, provided their work meets the Club's journalistic standards.
The National Press Club presents physical awards in the form of plaques to category winners. These awards are traditionally presented during the annual journalism awards dinner held in August. For those unable to attend the ceremony, the Club mails the plaques to the address provided on the entry form.
The News Photography Award carries a prize of $1,000 for the winning entry.
The National Press Club's journalism awards have a long history of recognizing major news organizations. Past winners of various categories in the program include the Associated Press, Bloomberg News, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times.
The organization, headquartered at 529 14th Street NW in Washington, D.C., continues to recognize journalists who produce work that serves the public interest, whether they are working independently or as employees of editorially independent news organizations.
