Miami Herald’s Julie K. Brown wins Columbia University’s John Chancellor Award
Miami Herald investigative reporter Julie K. Brown has been awarded the 2026 John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism.
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Presented by the Columbia Journalism School, the award recognizes a journalist each year for cumulative accomplishments, and honors the legacy of pioneering television correspondent and longtime NBC News anchor John Chancellor.
During her 40-year career, Brown has received some of the highest honors in journalism, including a special citation from the Pulitzer Prize Board in 2026 for her groundbreaking investigation into sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Her investigative reporting on the Jeffrey Epstein case in 2018 broke the story open after a decade of dormancy. Her work ultimately prompted federal prosecutors in New York to reopen the case and charge Epstein with sex trafficking in July 2019. A month later, Epstein was found dead in his New York jail cell. His death was ruled a suicide by hanging.
“Julie K. Brown’s unique talent mixes document-driven investigation, persistence, and that rare ability to build trust with reluctant sources who speak to her because she listens,” said Columbia Journalism School Dean Jelani Cobb. “And then she proves to them — through tangible impact — that their stories matter.”
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Brown authored “Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story,” which will have Sony TV limited series based on it produced by Oscar-winning director Adam McKay.
“Over the course of a legendary career at the Miami Herald, Julie K. Brown has developed remarkable track record of finding the shocking — yet untold — stories of the forgotten and vulnerable people whose experiences are never heard, and the authorities who enable their abusers,” said Alex Mena, executive editor of the Miami Herald. “Today, victims are still finding justice, and powerful figures remain under scrutiny because of the ground she broke and the body of work she built.”
Selected by a committee of eight veteran journalists, Brown will receive the 2026 award with a $25,000 honorarium in November.
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