We just learned that The Lever is the winner of the prestigious 2025 National Press Club Award for Master Plan, our investigative audio series exposing the secret history of how corruption was legalized in America. The award comes in a week that saw The Lever’s reporting take center stage on Capitol Hill — and just ahead of a huge announcement we’re about to make.
If you haven’t yet heard it, go add Master Plan and our weekly podcast Lever Time to your podcast app right now.
The National Press Club Award’s previous recipients include outlets like The Boston Globe and ABC News — which means this year’s award is a major milestone not just for The Lever’s newsroom, but for all independent news outlets competing with the world’s biggest media conglomerates.
And it’s also a huge milestone for the type of follow-the-money, accountability-minded journalism that is so rare — and that our paying subscribers make possible through their support.
This week, The Lever’s investigative reporting also became the central focus of a Trump nominee’s confirmation hearing, repeatedly cited by senators in their investigative probes and during the hearing. The Lever’s journalism simultaneously prompted congressional demands for a federal price-gouging probe, turning to our reporting while holding corporations’ feet to the fire.
Between the awards and the recognition, this week is a welcome reminder that our accountability journalism is making a huge impact. Our competitors have more resources, but The Lever continues to shape the national conversation — and that is only possible thanks to our subscribers’ steadfast support. Thank you so much for being such an integral part of our team. We absolutely could not do this work without you.
Rock the boat,
Sirota
P.S. Next week, we’ll have some more exciting news about Master Plan. Stay tuned!
