Yvonne Latty receives 10th Annual IWMF Gwen Ifill Award

Receiving the Gwen Ifill Award represents a lifetime of centering my work on the stories of people who are often not heard. As a kid, I believed that a person like me — a daughter of immigrants from a tough New York City neighborhood — couldn’t be a journalist. But I had people supporting, listening and helping to pull me up, and their voices rang louder than my fears. They inspired me to be a voice of encouragement for any journalist who comes my way.”

Yvonne Latty

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) today named award-winning reporter and producer Yvonne Latty, director of Temple University's Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting, the recipient of its 2026 IWMF Gwen Ifill Award. This award recognizes Latty — a journalist, author, filmmaker and educator — for her transformative mentorship and commitment to expanding diversity in investigative reporting.

Latty is the 10^th recipient of the IWMF Gwen Ifill Award, which was established in 2017 to honor the memory of the legendary co-anchor of the PBS NewsHour and friend of the IWMF. The award honors a trailblazing journalist who reflects and carries forward Gwen’s professional legacy and personal example.

“Receiving the Gwen Ifill Award represents a lifetime of centering my work on the stories of people who are often not heard,” Latty said. “As a kid, I believed that a person like me — a daughter of immigrants from a tough New York City neighborhood — couldn’t be a journalist. But I had people supporting, listening and helping to pull me up, and their voices rang louder than my fears. They inspired me to be a voice of encouragement for any journalist who comes my way.”

After more than a decade reporting with The Philadelphia Daily News, Latty authored two books, "We Were There: Voices of African American Veterans, from World War II to the War in Iraq" and "In Conflict: Iraq War Veterans Speak Out on Duty, Loss, and the Fight to Stay Alive." She has also produced several podcasts, including “Dying on the Inside: Women Lifers at Muncy Prison,” and two documentaries about crises facing the Navajo Nation. By uncovering new perspectives on history and bringing marginalized voices to the fore, Latty’s journalism embodies Ifill’s dedication to broadening narratives in journalism.

For the past 20 years, Latty has also trained reporters as a journalism professor, first at New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute and now as director of Temple’s Logan Center. Under Latty’s leadership, the Logan Center has become a nationally respected investigative newsroom, allowing students to work alongside professional journalists and produce rigorous, in-depth reporting projects on civil and social issues. Latty has also mentored many young journalists, including through the IWMF’s Gwen Ifill Mentorship Program, teaching her mentees to produce journalism that is both impactful and sustainable.

“Yvonne is the rare kind of journalist who not only creates profound, changemaking reporting but also passes that skill and knowledge on to young journalists following in her footsteps,” said Elisa Lees Muñoz, president of the IWMF. “She is exactly the type of journalist Gwen Ifill would want out in the world, creating a more expansive and inclusive industry that will thrive for generations to come.”

The Gwen Ifill Award is generously sponsored by the UTA Foundation. More information on the award is available at iwmf.org/awards/gwen-ifill-award/.