Conservative Filmmakers Launch Journalism Prize To Highlight Stories Mainstream Media Won’t Cover

Conservative documentary filmmakers Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney have announced a national journalism competition offering $17,500 in prize money to young reporters who uncover stories they believe mainstream media outlets have ignored.

The Shillman Journalism Prize seeks original, independent reporting and will award $10,000 to the first-place winner, $5,000 for second place, and $2,500 for third place. The competition is open to legal U.S. residents who will be under 25 on December 31, 2026.

“If you’re under 25 and you think you’ve found the story everyone else missed — or the one the media actively wants covered up — this is your moment,” McAleer and McElhinney said.

Married investigative journalists McAleer and McElhinney have reported from around the world, covering conflicts, exposing criminal networks, and holding powers to account that often get a free pass in the dominant media. Their work has also drawn threats and violence, with McAleer saying they have been “spat at, locked out, slapped, shut down, threatened with a gun, kidnapped” and faced situations where he thought he might die.

The couple said their new project is designed to inspire the next generation of journalists to pursue independent reporting as America’s public confidence in mass media falls to historic lows. 

“The mainstream media are biased, and their bias and activism is damaging America and the world,” McAleer said in a statement to The Daily Wire. “Too often mainstream journalists seem more interested in covering up the news than covering it. That has to change.”

The contest is looking for old-fashioned journalism — original, fact-based reporting built on interviews, documents, public records, FOIA requests, and other firsthand research. Organizers will look for stories mainstream outlets have missed, ignored, or failed to report properly.

McAleer and McElhinney have encouraged applicants to look for stories in their backyard, urging young reporters to “ask awkward questions” and uncover stories that may be hiding in plain sight.

“We want a story that hasn’t been told, or hasn’t been told properly — the kind of story that is often sitting right on your doorstep, in your town, or in your state. You don’t need to travel to exotic locations. The best stories are frequently the ones closest to home,” McAleer said.

The competition will be conducted entirely through Substack. An expert panel will select the top 10 submissions. Then, the public will vote to determine the three winners.

McAleer and McElhinney have built a reputation for advancing conservative-minded causes in the traditionally left-leaning worlds of theater and the arts. 

The Irish couple recently produced a play examining the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israel that was featured at the Kennedy Center. They also produced Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer, a film based on the case of convicted Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell.

The Shillman Journalism Prize is designed to encourage young reporters to pursue original reporting at a time when many aspiring journalists enter an industry increasingly dominated by flailing established news organizations. In 2025, Americans’ confidence in mainstream media dropped to 28% – a new low and down 12 percentage points from 40% five years earlier, according to Gallup. 

Voters across the ideological spectrum remain largely distrustful of the media, with just 8% of Republicans, 27% of independents, and a bare majority of Democrats (51%) reporting confidence in the American news media.

“Journalism doesn’t have to be dangerous or require huge resources,” McAleer said. “Sometimes the truth is simply good news that needs to be amplified. Sometimes life-changing stories are just the ones that have never been told properly — or never been told at all. And right now, those stories are everywhere.”

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