The Futrell Award
for Outstanding Achievement in Communications and Journalism by a Duke alum
The Futrell Award for Outstanding Achievement in Communications and Journalism was established in 1999 by Ashley B. Futrell, Jr., in tribute to his father, Ashley B. Futrell, Sr., for his career contributions to Duke University and to the profession of journalism. The award is presented annually to a Duke University alum for outstanding achievement in the field of communications and journalism and is administered by the DeWitt Wallace Center for Communications and Journalism at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy.
The Futrells — three generations of Duke alumni, Ashley B. Futrell Sr. (‘33), Ashley B. Futrell Jr. (‘78), and Nan Futrell (‘07) – exemplify the ideals of the Futrell Award. Not only have they made significant contributions to the field of communications, but their newspaper, the Washington (NC) Daily News, has directly improved the quality of life in the community in which they have lived all their lives. In 1990 The Washington Daily News pursued information revealing that the city’s water supply was contaminated with carcinogens, a problem that the local government had neither disclosed nor corrected over a period of eight years. The newspaper was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Public Service.
Recipients
2023-2024
- Sean McManus, Chairman, CBS Sports
2022-2023
- Nia-Malika Henderson, senior political analyst for CNN
2021-2022
- Valerie Bauerlein Jackson, National Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
(Prepared remarks delivered to journalism students, as remembered.)
2020-2021
No award made, due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2019-2020 (award made in 2021, due to the pandemic)
- John Carryrou, investigative reporter and author, Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
2018-2019
- Susan Taylor Martin, reporter and editor, Tampa Bay Times
2017-2018
- Peter Applebome, deputy national editor, The New York Times
2016-2017
- Craig Whitlock, investigative reporter, The Washington Post
2015-2016
- Laura C. Gentile, Senior Vice President espnW and Women’s Initiatives, ESPN
2014-2015
- Jim Wilson, Photojournalist, The New York Times
2013-2014
- John Feinstein, Columnist, The Washington Post
2012-2013
- John Drescher, Executive Editor, The News and Observer
2011-2012
- Rome J. Hartman III, Executive Producer, NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams
2010-2011
- Cornelia Grumman, former Executive Director, The First Five Years Fund, a nonprofit organization advocating for early childhood education; editorialist, the Chicago Tribune.
2009-2010
- Mark Mazzetti, national security correspondent, The New York Times
2008-2009
- Karen Blumenthal, Author, former Business Editor, Wall Street Journal
2007-2008
- Stephen Labaton, Senior Writer, The New York Times, Washington Bureau
2006-2007
- Kevin Sack, National Correspondent, Los Angeles Times
2005-2006
- John Harwood, Chief Washington Correspondent of CNBC and Senior Contributing Writer, The Wall Street Journal
2004-2005
- James F. Goodmon, President and CEO, Capitol Broadcasting Company
2003-2004
- David Hartman, Former Host, “Good Morning America”
2002-2003
- Susan Tifft, Patterson Professor of the Practice of Journalism and Public Policy, Duke University; author of The Trust: The Private and Powerful Family Behind The New York Times
2001-2002
- Fred Andrews, former writer and editor, The New York Times
2000-2001
- Charlie Rose, host, “The Charlie Rose Show”
Rescinded- December 4, 2017
1999-2000
- Jason DeParle, Reporter, The New York Times
1998-1999*
- Judy Woodruff, Senior Correspondent, CNN
1998-1999*
- Clay Felker, Founding Editor of New York Magazine and the editor of The Village Voice and Esquire
*Two separate awards given in 1998-99