Happy Friday, enjoy Sidney's Picks:

Congratulations to @stjbs.bsky.social and @kolyncheang.bsky.social of @sfchronicle.com on winning the May Sidney Award for their devastating exposé of deaths in ICE custody from medical neglect.

Sidney's Picks:

Congratulations to @jameeljaffer.bsky.social on receiving the 2026 George Barrett Award for Public Interest Law from @sidneyhillman.bsky.social. In accepting the award, Jameel paid tribute to the Institute’s clients and partners, whose work defending democracy “should be a model for all of us.”

horrible. this country’s turn away from science based medicine in the name of “wellness” is killing children and will kill a lot more. www.propublica.org/article/more...

well congrats to all save one, anyway #iykyk

@polgreen.bsky.social won the @sidneyhillman.bsky.social award for opinion and analysis journalism for her work on migration. She speaks in the clip showing the audience -- nearly a full house to honor journalism for the public good:

It was an honor to accept the 2026 Hillman Prize for Magazine Journalism last night with @leahfeiger.bsky.social and @timmarchman.bsky.social. The WIRED team's DOGE coverage was unmatched -- fight me, nobody did it better -- and we're grateful to the @sidneyhillman.bsky.social for the recognition.

So thankful to @sidneyhillman.bsky.social for recognizing our coverage. We were the first to identify and start tracking DOGE's moves through the government: www.wired.com/story/elon-m...

Tragic:

@propublica.org 's @gingerthompson.bsky.social & @dorisburkefpg.bsky.social win #Hillman26 SEIU Award for Reporting on Racial & Economic Justice. Thompson reported "Sick in a Hospital Town" about corporate/health care exploitation in Albany, GA for *FIVE years* -- very few newsrooms still do this.

#hillman26 prize for magazine journalism goes to @wired.com for their blistering expose, "Inside the DOGE Takeover of the Federal Government." Gripping, defiant in the best way speech by Wired's leader (I didn't catch her name), but I'm now behind in live-posting. I encourage you to read this work.

Hillman judge Harold Meyerson presents the Hillman Prize to @wired.com for their groundbreaking coverage of the DOGE vandalism spree on the federal government.

Lauren Caruba, Marin Wolf, Azul Sordo and team from The Dallas Morning News wins the Hillman Prize for Newspaper journalism for their 8-part series exposing the toll of Texas’s abortion ban on women and doctors. #Hillman26

Includes @wired.com excellent reporting on DOGE. Kudos!

Hillman judge @jamellebouie.net presents the Hillman Prize for Opinion & Analysis journalism to @polgreen.bsky.social.

Michelle Adams wins the 2026 Hillman Book Prize for The Containment, which recounts how the Supreme Court halted school desegregation in the North with the Milliken decision

Bruce Raynor, @sidneyhillman.bsky.social pres, introducing #Hillman26, names in the legacy of the Jewish immigrant labor organizer who helped build the best of America. Raynor: "a criminal like Bezos" owning the Washington Post is obscene. Another reason why we honor free press and journalists.

Mr and Mrs Sidney Hillman

At the annual @sidneyhillman.bsky.social awards, saluting the best in advocacy journalism. Jane Mayer got a Hillman a few years ago. Looking forward to tonight’s honorees. #Hillman2026

NOW: live-posting my favorite annual event: Hillman Prizes for public interest journalism @sidneyhillman.bsky.social Follow along w/me & #Hillman26 to learn of crucial reporters, columnists, editors & authors who expose injustice and preserve democracy! #Hillman2026 Pic: w/ @beyerstein.bsky.social

The 2026 Hillman Prize ceremony starts now! Hashtag: #hillman26

The hashtag for tonight’s Hillman Prizes ceremony is #Hillman26

YouTube has removed one of my videos because I reported that women can still access abortion pills. I shared *factual & medically accurate* information about women's health—yet the platform says I'm "facilitating the sale of illegal drugs"

So, shouldn’t blow up boats, shouldn’t murder your own citizens. Got it.

@jkbjournalist.bsky.social garnered a special commendation from the Pulitzers for her groundbreaking reporting on Jeffrey Epstein and his outlandish sweetheart federal plea deal. We honored Julie with a Hillman Prize in 2018 when the story broke. We congratulate her on this new honor!

My Friday newsletter for @niemanstoryboard.org: @bartona104.bsky.social on "Fela Kuti: Fear No Man." Plus: @atrubek.bsky.social on nonfiction publishing, @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social on access, @sidneyhillman.bsky.social awards. niemanstoryboard.org/2026/04/24/m... #podcasts #longreads

Wishing you all a very productive World Press Freedom Day and looking forward to better days ahead!

The audio for @jamellebouie.net and Michelle Adams' appearance on the @thebrianlehrershow.bsky.social is up. Check it out!

"Celebrating the first amendment and raising money for journalism causes is, of course, a fine idea," writes @sulliview.bsky.social. "There must be a better way than to rub elbows in a glitzy ballroom with those who despise journalists and their constitutionally protected mission."

Staten Island traffic cameras have caught a white RAM 1500 pickup truck blasting through school zones or running red lights more than 547 times since 2022. The truck belongs to James Giovansanti, who lives and works there as an NYPD officer. nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/04/23/t...

Hillman judge @jamellebouie.net and Hillman Prize-winning author Michelle Adams went on @thebrianlehrershow.bsky.social this morning to talk about journalism for the common good.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2026 Hillman Prizes. #Hillman26

@wired.com wins the Hillman Prize for Magazine journalism for its agenda setting coverage of DOGE’s frontal assault on the federal workforce and Americans’ most sensitive data.

@jameeljaffer.bsky.social, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, wins the Barrett Award for Public Interest Law for his defense of democratic freedoms against the encroachment of authoritarianism. #Hillman26

@gingerthompson.bsky.social & Doris Burke of @propublica.org win the SEIU Award for Reporting on Racial and Economic Justice for their deep dive into Albany, GA, a town with a world-class hospital, whose community is sicker than ever, exposing larger truths about our healthcare system. #Hillman26

@polgreen.bsky.social wins the Hillman Prize for opinion & analysis for separating myth from reality in her columns about migration for @nytimes.com. #Hillman26

@wired.com wins the Hillman Prize for Magazine journalism for its agenda-setting coverage of DOGE’s frontal assault on the federal workforce and Americans’ most sensitive data. #hillman26

Very honored to receive this recognition for my work and for the work of all of my colleagues at @knightcolumbia.org. Thanks to @sidneyhillman.bsky.social and congratulations to all of the journalists being awarded Hillman Prizes as well. hillmanfoundation.org/george-barre...

Lauren Caruba, Marin Wolf, Azul Sordo, and team from @dallasnews.com win the Hillman Prize for Newspaper journalism for their 8-part series exposing the toll of Texas’s abortion ban on women and doctors.

Charlotte Kaufman and Andrew Jarecki win the Hillman Prize for Broadcast journalism for The Alabama Solution, a riveting documentary using clandestine cellphone footage that exposes the lethal brutality of Alabama’s prison system. #Hillman26

Michelle Adams wins the 2026 Hillman Prize for her book, "The Containment," which recounts how the Supreme Court halted school desegregation in the North with the Milliken decision.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2026 Hillman Prizes.

Spend a few minutes celebrating journalism in the public interest with the @sidneyhillman.bsky.social prize winners: www.hillmanfoundation.org/clearitwiths... 1/2

Congrats @polgreen.bsky.social !

@jameeljaffer.bsky.social, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, wins the Barrett Award for Public Interest Law for his defense of democratic freedoms against the encroachment of authoritarianism.

@gingerthompson.bsky.social & Doris Burke of @propublica.org win the SEIU Award for Reporting on Racial and Economic Justice for their deep dive into Albany, GA, a town with a world-class hospital, whose community is sicker than ever, exposing larger truths about our healthcare system.

@polgreen.bsky.social wins the Hillman Prize for opinion & analysis for separating myth from reality in her columns about migration for @nytimes.com.

@wired.com wins the Hillman Prize for Magazine journalism for its agenda-setting coverage of DOGE’s frontal assault on the federal workforce and Americans’ most sensitive data.