Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy

David Fahrenthold of The Washington Post Honored by Newhouse School with Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting

Tuesday, March 28, 2017, By Wendy S. Loughlin
Share
AwardsS.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
David Farenthold

David Fahrenthold

David Fahrenthold of The Washington Post is the winner of the 2017 Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting. The $5,000 prize, which is sponsored by the Newhouse School, honors the late Robin Toner ’76, a summa cum laude graduate who was the first woman to serve as national political correspondent for The New York Times.

The prize was awarded by Toner’s twin children, Nora and Jacob Toner Gosselin, at a celebration dinner March 27 in Washington, D.C. The keynote speaker was Gov. John Kasich of Ohio.

Fahrenthold won for “A Portrait of Donald Trump,” a series of articles highlighting his yearlong reporting on Trump.

John Kasich

Ohio Gov. John Kasich

Fahrenthold wrote about Trump’s many unfulfilled promises to donate to charity, and discovered that the Donald J. Trump Foundation had apparently violated the law by using money meant for charity to buy portraits of Trump and to pay off his business’s legal obligations. Fahrenthold also revealed the existence of a 2005 video in which Trump bragged on a hot mic about groping women.

Judge Adam Clymer called Fahrenthold’s work, which capitalized on crowdsourcing and social media, “Brilliant old-school reporting adapted to the electronic age.”

Fahrenthold is the seventh winner of the Toner Prize. Previous winners are Alec MacGillis of ProPublica; Dan Balz and Karen Tumulty, both of The Washington Post; Molly Ball of The Atlantic; Jane Mayer of The New Yorker; and Craig Harris of The Arizona Republic.

Alongside Fahrenthold, three reporters from The New York Times received an honorable mention. David E. Sanger, Scott Shane and Eric Lipton were recognized for “The Perfect Weapon: How Russian Cyberpower Invaded the U.S.,” which covered the Russian cyber-attacks in the 2016 presidential election. Judge Adam Clymer called it “Great reporting on the most important political story of the year—or perhaps, the century.”

Toner Prize event

New York Times national reporter Yamiche Alcindor and Roberto “Bert” Ifill

In addition, New York Times national reporter Yamiche Alcindor was honored in a tribute to late “PBS NewsHour” anchor Gwen Ifill, who passed away late last year. Ifill was a longtime colleague and friend of Toner and a founding member of the Toner Program in Political Reporting, which administers the Toner Prize. Her brother, Roberto “Bert” Ifill, presented the award to Alcindor, who was recognized for reflecting qualities that were the hallmark of Gwen Ifill’s career—passion for non-partisan reporting, intelligent and eloquent storytelling, and commitment to journalism’s public service mission.

This year’s Toner Prize competition drew 147 entries from across the country and from across media platforms—including local television, digital-only news outlets and broadcast networks, as well as national and community newspapers.

To judge the competition, 39 veteran journalists—most of them now teaching journalism at universities—served on 13 juries to recommend finalists. The Toner Prize was awarded by five finalist judges: Maralee Schwartz, retired political editor of The Washington Post and a contributing editor to Columbia Journalism Review; Clymer, retired political reporter and colleague of Toner at The New York Times; Ann Compton, recently retired White House correspondent for ABC News; Lonnie Isabel, former deputy managing editor of Newsday, now on the faculty of the Columbia Journalism School; and Evelyn Hsu, co-executive director of the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education.

Robin Toner spent 25 years as a reporter for The New York Times. She began her journalism career in West Virginia with the Charleston Daily Mail and reported for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. For The New York Times, she covered five presidential campaigns, scores of Congressional and gubernatorial races, and most of the nation’s major public policy issues. She died in 2008.

Her family, friends, classmates and Syracuse University have created an endowment for the Robin Toner Program in Political Reporting at the Newhouse School.

  • Author

Wendy S. Loughlin

  • Recent
  • Student’s Mobile Upcycled Clothing Business Turns Trash Into Treasures
    Friday, August 22, 2025, By Diane Stirling
  • Q&A for “Will Work for Food,” a new book exploring labor and the food chain
    Friday, August 22, 2025, By Ellen Mbuqe
  • Chaz Barracks Fuses Art, Scholarship and Community in Summer Residency
    Thursday, August 21, 2025, By News Staff
  • Welcome Week 2025: What You Need to Know
    Tuesday, August 19, 2025, By Kathleen Haley
  • How Otto the Orange Spent Their Summer Vacation (Video)
    Tuesday, August 19, 2025, By News Staff

More In Media, Law & Policy

NASCAR Internship Puts Jenna Mazza L’26 on the Right Track to Career in Sports Law

A lifelong NASCAR fan, Jenna Mazza L’26 has a photo of herself at age 4 standing with legendary driver Jimmie Johnson’s diecast car. So, imagine her elation when she had the opportunity to take a photograph with Johnson himself this…

New $1M Gift to Build Bridges and Create Global Map to Enhance Democracies

With a new $1 million gift from The Reynolds Foundation, researchers at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs hope to create a new global map, one that provides a clear pathway to strengthening democracy and freedom throughout the…

Professor Anthony Adornato Trains Journalists in Kosovo Through Fulbright

For Associate Professor Anthony Adornato, a recent Fulbright experience brought him back to his journalism roots. The former television anchor and reporter returned from a three-week Fulbright Specialist experience in Kosovo, where he trained journalists at the country’s public service…

Syracuse University and University of Bergen Host Transatlantic Alliance for Law, Outreach and National Security Conference

The Syracuse University Institute for Security Policy and Law (SPL) and the University of Bergen Faculty of Law recently hosted a group of national security scholars from 16 universities and 12 states at the first Transatlantic Alliance for Law, Outreach…

After Tragedy, Newhouse Grad Rediscovers Her Voice Through Podcasting

When Erika Mahoney ’12 graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, she had no idea that her journalism training would one day help her navigate the most devastating chapter of her own life. Today, the former National Public…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.