The Sydney prize is a monthly award for outstanding investigative journalism in service of the common good. It was created by a grant from the Hillman Foundation, which awards monetary prizes for work done to improve society through journalism and other public service. The prize honors journalists and journalism that investigates the social injustices of our time. It is presented by SHOT, the Society for History of Technology. The prize is open to students at the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as for professional journalists. It is awarded on the second Wednesday of each month.
The Sidney Prize is an annual prize awarded by George Polk judges to a work that exemplifies exceptional long-form investigative or enterprise journalism. The winning entry must be at least 5,000 words in length and represent highly distinguished, deep coverage of an issue that has a significant impact on the public’s understanding of our world. Past winners have explored local, state and federal government corruption; military injustices; war crimes, genocide or sedition; authoritarian government abuses; and a host of other issues that affect the quality of life for citizens in our democracy. The prize is named in honor of the late New York Times and Newsday reporter/columnist Sydney H. Schanberg, a George Polk winner in 1977 and a leading advocate for independent journalism. The prize is funded by the family of his widow, Jane Freiman Schanberg.
Founded in 1946, the Hillman Foundation is an organization of left-leaning donors that annually awards monetary prizes for work done to improve societies through journalism and other public service. The Hillman Prizes are presented each year in both the United States and Canada. The prizes are a part of the larger Hillman Foundation’s mission to honor and foster investigative reporting and deep storytelling in service to the common good.
For instance, in the 2025 US Hillman Prizes, a story on state income tax debt won a Sidney Prize. Reporters Maya Srikrishnan and Ashley Clarke worked on this piece for a year, doggedly finding new avenues to tell the story when state officials stalled or quoted outrageous fees for data requests. They also surveyed every state with an income tax to understand their collections policies and assistance for low-income taxpayers.
Other notable prize winners include Australian filmmaker Luke Cornish, who won the Documentary Australia prize for his film Keep Stepping, a profile of women in Sydney’s urban fringe who compete to become the city’s best street dancers. The film also won the AFTRS Craft Award and the Yoram Gross Animated Short Film Award at the Dendy Awards.
Another noteworthy winner is physicist Sidney Perkowitz, who was the 2023 recipient of the Andrew Gemant Prize. The prize is awarded to a physicist who has made significant contributions to the cultural, artistic or humanistic dimension of physics. His work bridges physics with art, the media and literature. He has contributed through a range of media, including books, essays and public lectures.
