GAINESVILLE, FL – May 1, 2025 – The Collier Companies proudly celebrates the winners of the 2025 Collier Prize for State Government Accountability, awarded during the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on April 26 in Washington, D.C.
The first-place award and $25,000 prize went to the Associated Press for its powerful series, “Prison to Plate: Profiting off America’s Captive Workforce,” which exposed the widespread use of prison labor in commercial supply chains. The reporting prompted several major corporations to cut ties with suppliers relying on incarcerated workers.
NBC News and Noticias Telemundo received second place for “Dealing the Dead,” a yearlong investigation into the body brokering industry, and the Illinois Answers Project earned third place for “Strapped Down,” which uncovered the misuse of restraint chairs in Illinois jails.
The Collier Prize is one of the largest journalism prizes in the U.S. focused on state-level accountability. It is administered by the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications and made possible through an endowment from The Collier Companies.
To learn more, visit: https://www.jou.ufl.edu/collier-prize-for-state-government-accountability/collier-prize-about
