The Pudding journalists awarded 2026 Pamela Tobey Award for Excellence in Visual Storytelling

WASHINGTON, Aug. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Judges for the Pamela Tobey Award for Excellence in Visual Storytelling have named two journalists at The Pudding as the 2026 recipients of the National Press Club Journalism Institute prize.

The award, which includes a $1,000 cash prize, recognizes work that pushes the boundaries of compelling and creative storytelling through deliberate design choices. They will also be recognized during the National Press Club's Journalism Awards Dinner on Aug. 26.

The winning project, "Sizing Chaos," was reported and produced by Amanda Sakuma and Jan Diehm. Judges commended the team for its powerful execution, creativity in presenting in-depth data, the user experience, and strong research. Judges also complimented the project as a practical deep dive into a topic that's often talked about informally but not well covered by fact-based journalism.

"Women's clothing sizes reflect an opaque and ever-changing system that routinely keeps consumers in the dark around what we're actually buying," said Sakuma. "Our goal was to use hard data to validate a lived experience that so many of us have shared since we were teens, and to deepen our collective understanding of all the ways that modern clothing is not made to fit most of us."

Sakuma and Diehm will share how they approached the reporting and design of the intensive project in an upcoming National Press Club Journalism Institute training program this fall.

Volunteer judges included award namesake Pamela Tobey, a distinguished graphics editor formerly of The Washington Post; Karen Yourish, a Pulitzer Prize winner and reporter in The New York Times' graphics department; and Alberto Cuadra, an award-winning journalist who is managing editor of graphics for USA TODAY.

The judges also commended two runners up:

• Reuters, "Awaiting Justice: The impact of Hong Kong's national security laws"
• ProPublica, "The horrors that could lie ahead if vaccines vanish"

"We were delighted to see the number of truly exceptional submissions this year. Each project showed a commitment to telling complex stories with creativity and care," said Tobey. "Amanda and Jan's work at The Pudding stood out by blending the narrative pace with concise and compelling graphics. It's incredibly well researched and data-driven on a very personal topic for many people."

This award was made possible through the generosity of Tobey and her husband, Rick Dunham, a former president of both the National Press Club and the Institute. The award honors Tobey's cutting-edge work in visual journalism and her commitment to advancing innovative storytelling. The Calvert K. Collins Family Foundation has also contributed an initial $10,000 to support the award.

The judges noted the thoughtful design that went into the work of the honorees and other entries, including high school student Veronica Mederos' visual storytelling for her high school publication, The Royal Courier.

"We hope this award sparks many to experiment with innovative ways to tell stories that are of importance to their communities," said Tobey.

The National Press Club Journalism 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. The Institute accomplishes this mission by offering programs to grow the number of people who produce and support journalism; protecting journalists from interference so they can fully and fairly represent the communities they serve; and increasing transparency to keep citizens well-informed and their governments and institutions accountable.

To contribute to the Pamela Tobey Award for Excellence in Visual Storytelling, please use this link.

Contact: Beth Francesco, National Press Club Journalism Institute executive director, [email protected]

SOURCE National Press Club Journalism Institute