Cronkite’s Howard Center for Investigative Journalism wins 2 national Edward R. Murrow Awards
Students from Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication were recognized by the Radio Television Digital News Association for excellence in diversity, equity and inclusion, and investigative reporting as the national 2026 Edward R. Murrow Award winners.
The Edward R. Murrow Awards are among the most prestigious in broadcast television and digital news.
The ASU Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, in collaboration with collegiate and professional partners — including the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland, Global Reporting Centre at the University of British Columbia, The Narwhal, and Evident Media — received a national Murrow Award for Investigative Reporting for their in-depth report, "Off the Rails," for Small Digital Organization. The reporting looks at the risks and regulatory gaps in North America’s railroad industry.
As part of the collaboration, ASU Howard Center reporters Lex Doig, Jaehee Kim and Adrian Mancera Cota uncovered major gaps in oversight of the nation’s railroad bridges. Their investigation found that just six Federal Railroad Administration specialists were responsible for overseeing safety programs covering nearly 70,000 bridges nationwide, while railroads largely inspected their own bridges and kept most findings from public view.
The reporting drew national attention. The Associated Press distributed the ASU Howard Center investigation, NPR’s All Things Considered also reported on the issue in a story Doig voiced, and a leader of SMART Transportation Division, one of the nation’s largest rail unions, called the level of federal oversight the ASU team revealed “shocking and scary.”
Weeks later, following calls for reform, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced what it called a “major leap forward in railroad bridge safety oversight,” expanding the number of federal and state personnel trained to conduct bridge oversight from six to more than 160.
The broader “Off the Rails” collaboration brought together student and professional journalists to investigate railroad safety issues ranging from bridge oversight and derailments to wildlife collisions, hazardous cargo and the federal regulatory system.
The Howard Center for Investigative Journalism and PBS FRONTLINE received the Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Murrow Award for Network TV for their reporting on "Alaska's Vanishing Native Villages."
Researchers have found that parts of Alaska are warming at up to four times the rate of most of the rest of the world. The documentary goes inside Alaska Native villages that are fighting for survival against climate change and examines why communities are relocating and struggling to preserve their traditions.
The national Murrow Awards will be presented on Monday, Oct. 12, at an event in New York City. See the full list of 2026 National Murrow Award winners.
ASU's Howard Center for Investigative Journalism is a groundbreaking, hands-on learning experience supported by the Scripps Howard Foundation. In the Howard Center, graduate and capstone-level undergraduate students learn how to produce deeply researched watchdog journalism, often in partnership with prominent national newsrooms.
Cronkite School "Off the Rails" team
Reporters: Lex Doig, Jaehee Kim and Adrian Mancera
Researcjers: Matthew Bird, Mackenzie Miller and Justin Patton
Editores: Mark Greenblatt, executive editor, Howard Center; Lauren Mucciolo, executive producer, Howard Center
Cronkite School "Alaska’s Vanishing Native Villages" team
Co-producer: Belén Tavares, Humphrey Fellow 2023–24, Cronkite School
Producer: Lauren Mucciolo, executive producer, Howard Center