CMG’s Investigative Reporting Wins Prestigious duPont-Columbia Award

CMG's Investigative Reporting Wins Prestigious duPont-Columbia Award

ATLANTA (January 28, 2026) - Cox Media Group (CMG) announced today that its Investigative Reporting team, in collaboration with KFF Health News, has earned one of journalism's highest honors: the 2026 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award.

CMG earned the recognition for "Social Security's Secret," a behind-the-scenes look at the investigative reporting that exposed the real-world impact of Social Security Administration (SSA) payback demands. These SSA practices left millions of Americans facing unexpected financial hardship and prompted sweeping policy changes within the SSA.

"CMG's mission is to improve lives and inspire communities through our passionate people, powerful brands, and unmatched content," said Marian Pittman, CMG's President of Content. "Our Investigative Reporting team is at the heart of this mission and has broken numerous stories that made a difference in the lives of millions of people."

The Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award marks the fifth national award for "Social Security's Secret," an hour-long news special based on CMG's investigative series, "Overpayment Outrage." The special showed how a dozen reporters from across all of CMG's local television stations and KFF Health News worked together to expose the real-world impacts of Social Security Administration (SSA) overpayment clawbacks. These clawbacks affected roughly two million people each year. It featured the personal stories of more than three dozen people to highlight how burdensome the SSA's clawbacks had become for millions of benefit recipients. "Social Security's Secret" aired on in all of CMG's TV markets and on its streaming platforms.

As a result of this reporting, the Social Security Administration announced sweeping policy changes to stop what then-SSA Commissioner Martin O'Malley called the "clawback cruelty" of withholding 100 percent of people's benefits to recoup overpayments. Instead, the agency ultimately defaulted to a 10-percent withholding, made overpayment statements easier to understand, and shifted the burden of proof from the beneficiaries to the agency. The SSA has since reverted to a 50-percent withholding.

The CMG/KFF collaboration highlights the value of local news and investigative reporting, including the impact it can have by affecting change at the national level.

"It's our privilege and responsibility to shed light on issues like these, which affect so many people in our local communities," said Jodie Fleischer, CMG's managing editor for investigative content and collaborations. "When our reporting encourages those in power to take action to improve the lives of millions of people, it just reaffirms our mission to protect consumers and positively impact the people and communities we serve as well as the critical importance of local broadcast journalism."

The duPont-Columbia Awards have been administered by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism for more than 80 years. These awards are considered broadcast media's version of the Pulitzer and recognize outstanding audio and video journalism across broadcast and digital platforms.

In addition to the duPont-Columbia Award, other major awards for "Overpayment Outrage" and "Social Security's Secret," produced by CMG local television stations in collaboration with KFF Health News, include:

• Pulitzer Prize finalist (the first for a broadcast station group)
• Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Network TV News Documentary
• Gerald Loeb Award for Best Video Reporting
• Goldsmith Award Special Citation for Government Reporting
• National Press Foundation Feddie Award
• Center for Integrity in News Reporting
• National Headliner Award for Public Service (Broadcast TV)
• Barlett & Steele Gold Prize for Regional/Local Reporting
• SABEW (Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing) Best in Business Award
• AHCJ Award for Excellence in Health Care Journalism
• Society of Professional Journalists' D.C. Dateline Awards for: