The prestige of the George Polk Award has grown through the years with the list of winners, which follows, with the most recent first (1989-1980). [1989] [1988] [1987] [1986] [1985] [1984] [1983] [1982] [1981] [1980]
1989 (top of page)
Foreign Reporting		Nicholas Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn, The New York Times
National Reporting		Rick Atkinson, The Washington Post
Local Reporting		The Hartford Courant
Local Television Reporting		WCSC -TV, Charleston, SC
TV Investigative Reporting		Jonathan Kwitny, WNYC - TV
Network TV Reporting		CBS News
Radio Reporting		Robert Knight, WBAI - FM
Internationl Reporting		Stephen Engelberg, Michael R. Gordon, The New York Times
Medical Reporting		John Crewdson, Chicago Tribune
Political Reporting		Andrew Melnykovych, Casper Star - Tribune
Regional Reporting		Miranda Ewell, David Schrieberg, San Jose Mercury News
Career Award		Fred Hechinger, The New York Times
1988 (top of page)
Foreign Reporting		John Kifner, The New York Times
National Reporting		Keith Schneider, The New York Times
Local Reporting		David Gomez and Patricia Guthrie, Albuquerque Tribune
Financial Reporting		National Thrift News
Environmental Reporting		Mary Bishop, Roanoke Time & World - News
Local Television Reporting		King 5 TV, Seattle
Network Television Reporting		Brian Ross and Ira Silverman, NBC
Economic Reporting		Donald L. Barlette and James B.Steele, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Radio Reporting		Patricia Neighmond, National Public Radio
Cultural Reporting		Lawrence Weschler, North Point Press
Photojournalism		Mary Ellen Mark
Career Award		William Shawn
1987 (top of page)
Foreign Reporting		Nora Boustany, The Washington Post
National Reporting		Mike Masterson, Chuck Cook and Mark N. Trahant, The Arizona Republic
Local Reporting		Ron Ridenhour, New Orleans City Business
Financial Reporting		Daniel Hertzberg and James B. Stewart, The Wall Street Journal
Metropolitan Reporting		The Charlotte Observer
Local Television Reporting		Margie Nichols, WSMV, Nashville
Network Television Reporting		CNN
Radio Reporting		Larry Bensky, Pacifica Radio
Sports Reporting		Chris Mortensen, The Atlanta Journal - Constitution
Science Reporting		Science News
Political Reporting		Knight - Ridder's Washington Bureau
Foreign Television Reporting		Gordon Manning, NBC
Magazine Reporting		Roger Rosenblatt, Time
Career Award		Murray Kempton, Newsday & New York Newsday
1986 (top of page)
Foreign Reporting		Newsweek
National Reporting		Andrew Wolfson and Daniel Rubin, Louisville Courier - Journal
Local Reporting		Sally Jacobs, Raleigh News and Observer
Regional Reporting		Alex Beasley and Rosemary Goudreau, Orlando Sentinel
Financial Reporting		Peter G. Gosselin, Boston Globe
Science Reporting		Science Times
Environmental Reporting		High Country News
International TV Reporting		David Fanning and Martin Smith, Frontline (PBS)
National Television Reporting		Bill Moyers, CBS Reports
Local Television Reporting		Lee Coppola, WKBW - TV, Buffalo
Book		Richard Kluger, " The Paper: The Life and Death of the New York Herald Tribune"
Career Award		James Reston, The New York Times
1985 (top of page)
Foreign Reporting		Alan Cowell, The New York Times
International Reporting		Pete Carey, Katherine Ellison and Lewis M. Simons, The San Jose Mercury - News
National Reporting		Diana Griego and Louis Kilzer, The Denver Post
Local Reporting		Stan Jones, The Fairbanks Daily News - Miner
Metropolitan Reporting		Jimmy Breslin, New York Daily News
Political Reporting		Frank Greve, The Knight Ridder Newspapers
Business Reporting		The Boston Globe's Spotlight/Business Team
Medical Reporting		Lawerence K. Altman, The New York Times
Criticism		Arthur C. Danto, The Nation
Radio Reporting		Peter Laufer, NBC Radio News
Network Television Reporting		Ted Koppel and Richard N. Kaplan, ABC News "Nightline"
Local Television Reporting		Vic Lee, Craig Franklin, and Brian McTigue, KRON - TV, San Francisco
Career Award		George Tames, The New York Times
1984 (top of page)
Foreign Reporting		Mark Fineman, The Philadelphia Inquirer
National Reporting		Robert Parry, The Associated Press
Local Reporting		Ellen Whitford, The Norfolk Virginian - Pilot
Medical Reporting		William R. Ritz, John Aloysious Farrell, The Denver Post
Environmental Reporting		Tom Harris, Jim Morris, The Sacramento Bee
Special Interest Reporting		Lois R. Ember, Chemical & Engineering News
Magazine Reporting		John Vinocur, The New York Times Magazine
News Photography		Ozier Muhammad, Newsday
Special Award		"Amnesty International Report" published by Amnesty International
Foreign Television Reporting		Michael Buerk of BBC and Mohammed Amin of VisNews, televised by NBC News
National Television Reporting		Alex Kotlowitz, Kwame Holman, Susan Ades MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, aired on WNET, N.Y. and WETA, Wash., D.C.
Local Television Reporting		Rick Nelson, Joe Collum, KPRC - TV, Houston
Career Award		Red Barber
1983 (top of page)
Foreign Reporting		Joseph Lelyveld, The New York Times
National Reporting		Robert M. Frump, Timothy Dwyer, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Regional Reporting		Paul Lieberman, Celia Dugger of The Atlantic Journal - Constitution
Local Reporting		Jim McGee, The Miami Herald
Foreign Affairs Reporting		Philip Taubman, The New York Times
Economics Reporting		Dennis Camire, Mark Rohner, Gannett News Service
Consumer Reporting		Marcia Stepanek, Stephen Franklin, The Detroit Free Press
Medical Reporting		Benjamin Weiser, The Washington Post
Network Television Reporting		Don McNeill, CBS News
Local Television Reporting		John Fosholt, Ward Lucas, KBTV News Denver
Documentary Television		"Vietnam: A Television History," produced by WGBH, Boston, and aired on the Public Broadcasting System
Special Interest Reporting		The Amicus Journal, published by the National Resources Defense Council
Special Award		Youssef M. Ibrahim, The Wall Street Journal
Career Award		William Lawrence Shirer
1982 (top of page)
Foreign Reporting		Thomas L. Friedman, David K. Shipler, The New York Times
National Reporting		Richard Halloran, The New York Times
Regional Reporting		Jim Henderson, Dallas Times Herald
Metropolitan Reporting		Doug Cumming, Providence Journal - Bulletin
Local Reporting		David Johnston, Joel Sappell, The Los Angeles Times
Magazine Reporting		Roger Rosenblatt, Time
Financial Reporting		Phillip L. Zweig, American Banker
Criticism		Stanley Kauffman, The New Republic
News Photography		Robby Castro, The Associated Press
Network Television Reporting		CBS News, "CBS Reports: Guatemala"
Local Television Reporting		Dick Gelfman, Theresa Crawford, John Sur, WBAL -TV, Baltimore
Documentary Television		Andrew A. Stern, Public Broadcasting System
Special Award		Rod Nordland, The Philadelphia
1981 (top of page)
Foreign Reporting		John Darnton, The New York Times
National Reporting		Seymour M. Hersh, Jeff Gerth, Phillip Taubman, The New York Times
Regional Reporting		Stephanie Saul, W. Stevens Ricks, Jackson Clarion - Ledger (Miss)
Local Reporting		Orlando Sentinel Star, "The Federal Impact"
Consumer Reporting		Phil Norman, Louisville Courier - Journal
Magazine Reporting		William Greider, "The Education of David Stockman," The Atlantic
Book		Edwin R. Bayley, "Joe McCarthy and The Press"
Science Reporting		Science Magazine, "News and Comments"
Television Documentary		Pierre Salinger, Paris Bureau Chief, ABC News, "America Held Hostage: The Secret Negotiations"
Television Reporting		Ted Koppel of NBC News, "Nightline"
Radio Reporting		John Merrow, Institute for Educational Leadership and National Public Radio, "Juvenile Crime and Juvenile Justice"
Career Award		George Seldes
1980 (top of page)
Foreign Reporting		Shirley Christian, The Miami Herald
National Reporting		Jonathan Neuman and Ted Gup, The Washington Post
Local Reporting		The Miami Herald
Regional Reporting		The Charlotte Observer
Editorials		Editorial Board, The New York Times
Commentary		Roger Angell, The New Yorker
News Photography		Oscar Sabatta, United Press International
Satiric Drawings		Edward Sorel
Cultural Reporting		ARTnews
National Radio Reporting		National Public Radio
Local Radio Reporting		Station KMOX, CBS, St. Louis
Political Reporting		Bill Moyers, "Bill Moyers' Journal: Campaign Report" (WNET-TV), New York
Local Television Reporting		Stephen Talbot and Jonathan Dann, KQED-TV, San Francisco
National Television Reporting		Charles Kuralt, CBS News
Special Award		Leonard Karlin, LIU alumnus/Polk Citation Writer