NSNC’s Will Rogers statuette
National Society of Newspaper Columnists (NSNC) Will Rogers Humanitarian Award
The Will Rogers Humanitarian Award is presented annually by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists to a writer whose work has positively affected readers’ lives and produced tangible humanitarian benefits.
Any regularly published newspaper columnist, investigative reporter, opinion journalist or feature writer who is not a previous winner is eligible. Writers may not nominate themselves — they must come from editors or community leaders.
Find the 2025 call for nominations form below.
Support for this program is provided by the Will Rogers Memorial and the Will Rogers Ranch Foundation.
Will Rogers — American cowboy philosopher-humorist. Born Nov. 4, 1879, Oologah, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), died Aug. 15, 1935, Point Barrow, Alaska, in plane crash with pioneer aviator Wiley Post. Star of stage, screen and radio; goodwill ambassador; aviation enthusiast; book author; newspaper columnist; and humanitarian.
Will Rogers had a remarkable career. He is best known for his timeless wit and wisdom. Among the quips he said and wrote:
- Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects.
- The country has gotten where it is in spite of politics, not by the aid of it.
- The truth can hurt you worse in an election than anything that could happen to you.
- We will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others.
- It’s great to be great, but it’s greater to be human.
- All I know is what I read in the papers.
Rogers wrote more than 4,000 columns, syndicated in 600 newspapers, in addition to six books.
He also was a great humanitarian, helping many worthwhile causes and giving much of his fortune to charities. He used his public forum to raise millions of dollars for victims of floods in the South, drought in the Southwest and earthquakes in Latin America. Leading a Red Cross national relief tour in the Depression winter of 1931, he stirred communities and citizens to action.
Will Rogers practiced civic journalism long before it became a familiar term – aptly described by the Pew Center as “both a philosophy and a set of values … at its heart is a belief that journalism has an obligation to public life – an obligation that goes beyond just telling the news or unloading lots of facts.”
That belief inspired the establishment of the Will Rogers Humanitarian Award in 1999 by the NSNC. This annual award recognizes a columnist whose work has positively affected readers’ lives and produced tangible benefits for the community served by the columnist’s newspaper. It is based on columns that show results.
The award is a handsome replica of the statue of Will Rogers in the U.S. Capitol. A $500 cash stipend will also be presented to the honoree as part of this honor.
Past winners include W. Bruce Cameron, the #1 New York Times and #1 USA Today Bestselling author of the novel A Dog’s Purpose, which went on to become the most popular live action dog movie of all time, the late best-selling author Jeffrey Zaslow, a columnist for The Wall Street Journal; Dave Lieber, “Watchdog” columnist for The Dallas Morning News; Canadian columnist Lindor Reynolds; Rochelle Riley of the Detroit Free Press; and the 2012 winner, Mike Masterson of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, cited for his record of “compassionate journalism” fighting against injustice as an investigative reporter and columnist. A complete list of past winners may be found at Will Rogers Humanitarians.
National Society of Newspaper Columnists (NSNC)
Will Rogers Humanitarian Award 2025 NOMINATION FORM
A copy of this form must be attached to each entry. Type or print carefully. Include a check for $25 payable to the “National Society of Newspaper Columnists” to cover administrative costs. Mail a check to 205 Gun Hill St., Milton, MA 02186 and designate “Will Rogers Humanitarian Award Nomination.” (Please read about this award at www.columnists.com/awards/will-rogers-humanitarian-award and study the rules, below, before completing your submission.)
Columnist____________________________________________Email___________________________________ Newspaper _________________________________________ City _________________________ State ______
Nominated by ________________________________________Title____________________________________ Address______________________________________________________Email___________________________
Phone (day) __________________ (eve/cell) _________________ Email ________________________________ Attach materials supporting the nomination.
____________________________________ (Signature of Nominator)
Submit entries by email to Carol Dawson at Cdawson@eeoguidance.com
Nominations must be received by March 15, 2025
RULES
- Any salaried, staff, syndicated or regularly published newspaper columnist, investigative reporter or feature writer who is not a previous winner is eligible for the award.
- Nominations may be based on a body of work, but the nominee must have written material that appeared in a daily or weekly newspaper in the U.S. or Canada during 2024 which related to his or her humanitarian activities.
- Nominations may be submitted by a newspaper editor, managing editor, executive editor, publisher or community leader and must be signed. A community leader’s nomination must include a letter of support from the entrant’s newspaper. Writers may not nominate themselves.
- If no qualifying entry is received, method of selection may be made by the program coordinator.
- There is no limit on how many columnists from the same newspaper may be nominated, but each nomination requires a separate entry.
- The winner will be notified. The award will be presented virtually in 2025. The winner is expected to attend the zoom meeting to accept the award.
Entries will consist of the following:
- A description, in 250 words or fewer, of the work done by the nominee to merit the award.
- A statement of supporting reasons for the nomination.
- Representative examples of the writings on which the nomination is based. These must be in the form of newspaper clips or photocopies. Website printouts must show the date, writer and publication.
- Entry pages shall be no larger than 8 ½” by 11″. Please do not use fancy, hardback binders. Staple the pages inside a letter-size manila file folder, with the nominee’s name and newspaper on front, and the words, “Will Rogers Humanitarian Award Nomination.”
- Entries will not be returned. Nominating materials may be reprinted in the NSNC newsletter, website or other media. This award recognizes outstanding civic journalism. It is not a writing contest. The award includes a $500 cash stipend. The NSNC sponsors the Will Rogers Humanitarian Award with support from the Will Rogers Memorial and the Will Rogers Ranch Foundation.
For more information on Will Rogers, visit www.www.willrogers.com.
Please direct question to Carol Dawson, award chair at Cdawson@eeoguidance.com
Read about past winners at: www.columnists.com/awards/will-rogers-humanitarian-award/winners
