Fourth Estate Award

The Fourth Estate Award is presented annually by The American Legion's National Public Relations Commission to an individual, publication or broadcast organization for outstanding achievement in the field of journalism. A $2,000 stipend accompanies the award to defray expenses of recipient accepting the award at The American Legion National Convention in August.

How to Enter

There is no entry fee
Submit Fourth Estate Award entries to:

The American Legion
Public Relations Division
700 N. Pennsylvania St.
Indianapolis, IN 46204

The Deadline

The deadline for entry is January 31 of the year the award is presented. For example: The entry deadline for the 2009 award is Jan. 31, 2009 and includes entries published or broadcast in CY 2008.

The Judges

All entries will be judged by members of The National Public Relations Commission of The American Legion. All entries become the property of The American Legion. Non-winning entries will be discarded unless specific return instructions have been provided.

Conditions for Judging

Entries must have been published or broadcast during the calendar year immediately preceding the date the award is given.

Subject matter must deal with a topic or issue of national interest or concern. Each entry must include a cover letter explaining the entry, and documentation or evidence of the entry's impact on the community, state, or nation. There is no printed entry form.

Originals must be submitted for book, magazine, and newspaper entries. Audio CD for radio entries and VHS, Betacam SP or DVD format for television entries are required. Individuals, publications, and broadcast organizations may submit as many entries as they like, but each entry must be accompanied by its own cover letter and any supporting documentation.

Accepting the Fourth Estate Award

The winning individual, or an appropriate substitute, will be required to attend The American Legion National Convention for the purpose of the award presentation.

Previous Winners

The Fourth Estate Award has been given annually by The American Legion since 1958. Winners since 1980 are:

  • 1980 Hy Rosen, Editorial Cartoonist, Albany Times Union
  • 1981 ABC News
  • 1982 Newsweek magazine
  • 1983 The Sacramento Union
  • 1984 C-SPAN
  • 1985 Life magazine
  • 1986 KMOX Radio, St. Louis
  • 1987 ABC Radio News
  • 1988 Bill Cox/Florida Today
  • 1989 Mary Beth Pheiffer/The Poughkeepsie Journal
  • 1990 Margaretta A. Downey/The Poughkeepsie Journal
  • 1991 Michael Trihey, Tamara Welch/The Bakersfield Californian
  • 1992 Philip Dine/St. Louis Post-Dispatch
  • 1993 Fortune magazine
  • 1994 KSNW-TV, Wichita, Kansas
  • 1995 Marcia Stepanek, Charles J. Lewis/Hearst Newspapers
    Washington Bureau/Albany Times Union
  • 1996 High Road Productions, Palo Alto, California
  • 1997 Tribune Chronicle, Warren, Ohio
  • 1998 The Tribune, Mesa, Arizona
  • 1999 Jerry Mitchell, The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Miss.
  • 2000 Dateline NBC, Washington, DC
  • 2001 Chronicle-Tribune, Marion, Indiana
  • 2002 Dayton Daily News. Dayton, Ohio
  • 2003 The Detroit News. Detroit, Michigan
  • 2004 Mark Benjamin, United Press International
  • 2005 Laurie Stein, WFOR-TV, Miami, FL
  • 2006 Ben Jones & Jamie Mara, The Post-Crescent, Appleton, WI
  • 2007 News Channel 5, Nashville, Tenn.
  • 2008 KRIV, Fox 26 News, Houston, TX

Contact Information

For more information about this event:

Call The American Legion Public Relations Division at (317) 630-1253, or send us an e-mail.