We are pleased to announce this year’s Statistical Excellence in Journalism Award winners, kindly sponsored by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
Awards were presented at a ceremony at BMA House in London across three categories: ‘explaining the facts’, ‘data visualisation’, and ‘investigative journalism’.
Scott Heald, RSS Vice-President for External Affairs and chair of the awards, said: ‘This year’s entries all exemplify outstanding work using statistics in journalism, a critical combination for understanding the world today with rigour and objectivity. By highlighting their achievements, we hope to encourage better practice across the industry. Congratulations to the winners for leading the way.’
Beccy Shipman, ESRC Deputy Director of Data Strategy and Infrastructure, said: ‘These awards seek to celebrate and promote robust, effective use of statistics in an industry that has a central role in informing the public and stewarding debate. This year’s winners and highly commended entries show the value and importance of that message through the excellence and dedication evident in their work. ESRC is proud to support these awards and congratulate the winners for their outstanding achievement.’
The 2026 winners are:
Data visualisation
Winner: Sondre Ulvund Solstad, Matt McLean, Filippo Teoldi, Evan Hensleigh, and Nam An for the Economist – What's in a name?
Explaining the facts
Winner: Brian O’Flynn for Channel 4 News - UK arms received by Israel reach record high value in 2025
Highly commended: Rob England, Jess Carr, Libby Rogers and John Walton for @BBC News - BBC's Migration Tracker
Highly commended: Andreas Moor, Matt McLean, Filippo Teoldi, Evan Hensleigh, and Sondre Ulvund Solstad for the Economist - Russia’s summer Ukraine offensive looks like its deadliest yet
Investigative journalism
Winner: Kaitlin Tosh, Michelle Inez Simon, and Joely Santa-Cruz for Sky News - The X effect: how Elon Musk is boosting the British right
Highly commended: Brian O'Flynn, Georgina Lee, Victoria MacDonald, Mike Smith, Felix Renicks, and Helen Johnson for Channel 4 News – England's Missing Nurses.