Eugenia M. Palmegiano Prize
The submission deadline has passed. Awardees are announced in the fall, and the next contest will begin in the spring.
The Eugenia M. Palmegiano Prize in the History of Journalism is awarded annually to the author of the most outstanding book published in English on any aspect of the history of journalism, concerning any area of the world, and any period.
Books that focus on the recent past should have a significant historical component. Books that deal with journalism in relation to other forms of mass communication are eligible for consideration. The current prize amount is $1,000. See the list of past recipients.
The general rules for submission are:
- Books with a copyright of 2021 are eligible for the 2022 award.
- Nomination submissions may be made by an author or by a publisher. Publishers may submit as many entries as they wish. Authors or publishers may submit the same book for multiple AHA prizes.
- Nominators must complete an online prize submission form for each book submitted.
- One copy of each entry must be sent to each committee member and clearly labeled “Palmegiano Prize Entry.” Print copies preferred unless otherwise indicated. If only e-copy is available, please contact review committee members beforehand to arrange submission format.
Please Note: Entries must be received by May 15, 2022, to be eligible for the 2022 competition. Entries will not be returned. Recipients will be announced on the AHA website in October 2022 and recognized during a ceremony at the January 2023 AHA annual meeting in Philadelphia.
For questions, please contact the Prize Administrator.
This year's submission deadline has passed.
The review committee contact information and prize submission form for the next competition will be posted by March 1 for submissions due May 15.
2021 Palmegiano Prize
Vanessa Freije, University of Washington–Seattle
Citizens of Scandal: Journalism, Secrecy, and the Politics of Reckoning in Mexico (Duke Univ. Press)
This extensively researched book shows how a diverse set of political scandals allowed the Mexican media to carve a new role for themselves from the 1960s to the 1980s and thereby helped undermine Mexico’s longstanding one-party political system. Vanessa Freije recognizes that the journalists she highlights were not saints and that they sometimes relied on racial stereotypes or reflected narrow political interests. Freije’s careful analysis and her clear prose make the significance of the story she tells clear, even to readers with no background in modern Mexican history.