CalMatters reporter honored for investigation into criminal justice system

EVANSTON, ILL. -- Anat Rubin, an investigative reporter for CalMatters, is the recipient of the 2026 John Bartlow Martin Award for Public Interest Magazine Journalism from Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. She is honored for “The Man Who Unsolved a Murder” published by CalMatters.

Rubin’s piece highlights the current inadequacies in the California criminal justice system, focusing on how 80% of criminal defendants in California are convicted without anyone investigating the charges against them.

“Defense investigators are invisible to most people outside the criminal justice system, but they are often the most important protection against wrongful convictions,” Rubin said. “They are also largely missing from public defender offices in California and across the nation, and that means people are routinely convicted without anyone looking into their side of the story.”

“Rubin’s story is a perfect example of John Bartlow Martin’s legacy: She identified a systemic problem in the legal system and built a compelling and suspenseful narrative around it,” said Patti Wolter, the Helen Gurley Brown Magazine Professor and lead organizer for the contest. “The topic—the lack of defense investigators—could be covered as a dry numbers-and-balance-sheet story. But Rubin’s detailed reporting and purposeful story building goes well beyond the numbers to create a can’t-put-it-down read, the kind of social justice journalism that leaves the reader incredulous and ready to demand change.”

Second place honors went to Ottavia Spaggiari for “Nowhere to Go: Inside the Texas Boarding Home System Where Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation are Widespread” published by Type Investigations and In These Times.

Third place went to Michael Riley for “The Risky Movement to Make America Nuclear Again” published by Bloomberg Business Week.

This year’s Blue Ribbon Judges were:

• Sara Austin (MSJ98), Executive Editor at ELLE Magazine

• Danielle Cadet (BSJ10, MSJ11), Media and Content Strategist

• Alissa Zhu (BSJ15), Reporter at Baltimore Banner

About the John Bartlow Martin Award for Public Interest Magazine Journalism

Former Medill faculty member John Bartlow Martin advanced the tenets of public interest journalism. His magazine stories about labor racketeering, poor working conditions, racism, crime and abuse of mental patients were marked by careful reporting, incisive writing and a palpable concern for victims. In many cases, these stories, published in major magazines such as Harper’s, The Saturday Evening Post, Life, Look, Collier's and The Atlantic, prompted public policy changes and inspired other journalists to make a difference with their own reporting.

In his 10 years at Medill, Martin helped students become skilled reporters and writers. Medill established the John Bartlow Martin Award for Public Interest Magazine Journalism in 1988 to encourage outstanding professional work in this crucial area. The award comes with a cash prize of $3,000.