The Tennessee Star has been named a finalist for the 2026 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism for Best Local Reporting, marking its second consecutive year being recognized as a finalist for the award.
The National Journalism Center (NJC), a project of Young America’s Foundation (YAF), and the Dao Feng and Angela Foundation announced the finalists Wednesday. The Star was recognized for its series of reports that ultimately resulted in the release of the Nashville Covenant Manifesto.
The Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy, Executive Editor Christina Botteri, and Lead Reporter Tom Pappert were also finalists in the 2025 competition and won the Dao Prize for Best Local Journalism for their reporting on the 2022 Tennessee traffic stop involving Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
During Wednesday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Leahy announced the new nomination alongside Pappert.
“We have been nominated once more as a finalist to receive the Dao Prize in 2026 for best local journalism in the country by the National Journalism Center,” Leahy said. “And this is quite an honor.”
Pappert said the nomination was “a big deal,” noting that the award ceremony will be held at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C.
“We are up for the Best Local Journalism Award, which is very prestigious, and we are honored to be a part of it,” Pappert said.
The 2026 finalists for Best Local Reporting include The Star staff, Nick Minock of WJLA, Marc E. Fitch of Inside Investigator, Kevin Krause of The Dallas Morning News, and Jared Strong of The Center Square.
The Dao Prize was established in 2023 through a partnership between the Dao Feng and Angela Foundation and YAF’s National Journalism Center. The organization says the annual award recognizes investigative journalism that demonstrates accuracy and courage. Entries are judged on investigative depth, public interest, fairness and accuracy, style, and impact.
The 2026 awards include a $100,000 Grand Prize, two $10,000 runners-up, a $10,000 Best Local Journalism prize, a $10,000 Multimedia Reporting prize, and a $30,000 Daylight Award for fraud reporting.
Winners will be announced November 19 at the fourth annual Dao Prize Gala at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
