Rebecca Ellis of the Los Angeles Times honored with the Institute's Sheehan Award for Investigative Journalism

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Rebecca Ellis, a Los Angeles Times staff writer whose work focuses on government accountability, investigations and legal affairs, will receive the National Press Club Journalism Institute's 2026 Neil and Susan Sheehan Award for Investigative Journalism.

Ellis's reporting uncovered evidence that people may have been recruited, and in some cases allegedly coached, to file sexual-abuse lawsuits they said were false, raising serious questions about the vetting of claims underlying the largest sex-abuse settlement in U.S. history. Her investigation has prompted a criminal fraud investigation, a State Bar probe, a new vetting process for thousands of sex abuse cases, and legislation to penalize unethical lawyers.

What began with Ellis's reporting on seven people who said they were paid to sue grew into a much broader examination of the settlement and the system behind it. Her subsequent reporting prompted investigations by the Los Angeles County district attorney and the California State Bar, contributed to delays in settlement payouts, raised questions about the vetting of thousands of claims and fueled broader scrutiny of California's law expanding the window for childhood sexual-abuse lawsuits.

"Rebecca's work took on an extraordinarily difficult and consequential subject, challenged assumptions surrounding a historic settlement and brought sustained scrutiny to a system with enormous implications for victims, institutions and the public," said Mike Balsamo, president of the National Press Club Journalism Institute. "It is the kind of ambitious, deeply reported journalism that reminds us what investigative reporting can accomplish at its best."

The Institute's board praised Ellis's work as a powerful example of shoe-leather reporting and careful source development, particularly her approach to interviewing people who were vulnerable because of their experiences with sexual assault or their financial circumstances.

For her original reporting, Ellis spent two weeks outside a South Los Angeles County social-services office, where people were seeking food stamps and other public benefits. That reporting, combined with extensive document review and financial analysis, helped her uncover questions about whether a system designed to compensate survivors had become vulnerable to exploitation by lawyers, recruiters and fraudulent claimants—and, if so, how extensively.

"These stories aimed to show what happens when California's legal system is exploited for profit and greed to the detriment of victims. I am deeply honored to see this work recognized by the National Press Club," said Ellis. "I'm especially grateful to the sources who took a risk and trusted me with their stories and to my editors at the L.A. Times who supported this reporting as it grew far beyond what we anticipated."

Before arriving at The Times in 2022, Ellis covered Portland city government for Oregon Public Broadcasting. Ellis previously wrote for the Miami Herald, freelanced for the Providence Journal and reported as a Kroc Fellow at NPR in Washington, D.C. She graduated from Brown University in 2018.

Ellis is a three-time Livingston Awards finalist, recognized for investigations into Portland's private security industry, sexual abuse in L.A. County's juvenile halls, and the series being recognized by the Sheehan Award. The series won first place prizes for investigative reporting at the National Headliner Awards and the Investigative Reporters and Editors Awards.

Each year, the Neil and Susan Sheehan Award for Investigative Journalism recognizes work that best reflects the Sheehans' extraordinary commitment to the principle that a vibrant democracy depends on an informed citizenry and a free press. The award promotes the practice of investigative journalism exemplifying compassion, courage, and integrity.

Previous recipients include Ed Mahon of Spotlight PA; Yvette Cabrera, formerly of the Center for Public Integrity; Kat Stafford of Reuters; and PBS FRONTLINE's Local Journalism Initiative.

The National Press Club and Journalism Institute will confer the 2026 Sheehan Award, along with the John Aubuchon Press Freedom Awards, during its annual Fourth Estate Award Gala on Nov. 12 in Washington, D.C.

The gala dinner raises funds to support the Club's nonprofit affiliate, the National Press Club Journalism Institute. The Institute promotes First Amendment values by equipping journalists in Washington, D.C., and nationwide with the skills, knowledge, standards, resources, and networks to empower and inform the public.

Tickets and sponsorship information for the event can be found here.

Contact: Dan Griffin, National Press Club communications director, [email protected]

SOURCE National Press Club Journalism Institute