The Tennessee Star has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism for its investigative series uncovering the infamous 2022 Tennessee traffic stop of Kilmar Abrego Garcia which led to the filing of human smuggling charges.
Best Local Journalism winner for the Dao Prize: @realTomPappert @michaelpleahy and @christinakb with the @TheTNStar for their series on Kilmar Abrego Garcia's infamous traffic stop that led to human smuggling charges!
— National Journalism Center (@NJC_YAF) November 20, 2025
The Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy, Executive Editor Christina Botteri, and Lead Reporter Tom Pappert were finalists for the Dao Prize in two spots in the Best Local Journalism category: one for publication’s investigative series on Abrego Garcia, and the other for its series on the Covenant Killer Manifesto.
Leahy, Botteri, and Pappert were announced Dao Prize winners for Best Local Journalism on Wednesday evening during the Dao Prize Gala at The Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C.
The Star will receive the top award of $10,000 as the winner of the Dao Prize.
“When we started The Tennessee Star eight years ago, we wanted to do two things: find the truth and report it. I think we’ve done that,” Leahy said onstage upon accepting the award.
Honored to announce The Tennessee Star won the prestigious Dao Prize for Best Local Journalism for our coverage of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
Thank you to the great @NJC_YAF for the recognition. We are privileged to be included among such incredibly talented reporters. pic.twitter.com/3F73Swke50
— Tennessee Star (@TheTNStar) November 20, 2025
The other finalists nominated in the category for Best Local Journalism included Tony Bartelme and Glenn Smith at The Post and Courier; Laura Crimaldi, Yvonne Abraham, Francis Storrs, and Gordon Russell of The Boston Globe; Steven Robinson and Graham Pollard at The Maine Wire; and Bethany Blankley at The Center Square.
Now in its third year, the Dao Prize, organized by Young America’s Foundation’s National Journalism Center and the Dao Feng and Angela Foundation, is awarded to “recognize excellence in investigative journalism” which “stands out for accuracy and courage.”
Dao Feng He and Angela He
The 2025 Dao Prize recognized investigative journalism across four categories: local reporting, multimedia, government waste (“DOGE”) reporting, and overall reporting or series.
Entries for the prize were judged on investigative depth, public interest, fairness and accuracy, style, and impact.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
