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Five finalists selected for 2025 Golden Padlock Award

Golden Padlock Award finalists

Investigative Reporters and Editors has named its finalists for the 2025 Golden Padlock Award, recognizing the most secretive public agency or official in the U.S. This year’s competition highlights a competitive field of government agencies and public officials who have distinguished themselves in the art of secrecy.

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Nebraska Department of Environment & Energy wins 2023 Golden Padlock Award

"Golden Padlock Award Winner" text over redacted public records request in green.

A staunch commitment to blocking the release of internal emails about a growing public health risk has earned Nebraska Department of Environment & Energy the 2023 Golden Padlock Award from Investigative Reporters and Editors. The award honors the most secretive government agencies in the U.S. The agency originally quoted the Flatwater Free Press a fee…

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City of Huntsville, Alabama, wins 2022 Golden Padlock Award

Robert Cribb presents the Golden Padlock Award finalists and winner during the IRE Awards Luncheon at IRE22

Steadfast unwillingness to release police bodycam footage in 2018 has earned the City of Huntsville, Alabama and its police department the 2022 Golden Padlock Award from Investigative Reporters and Editors. The award honors the most secretive government agencies in the U.S. It would take three years, a murder trial, dogged media requests and a judicial…

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Four finalists selected for 2021 Golden Padlock Award

Investigative Reporters and Editors has named a competitive field of finalists for its 2021 Golden Padlock Award honoring the most secretive public agency or official in the U.S. Drawn from nominations from journalists across the country, four finalists were chosen for their extraordinary commitment to secrecy, ranging from suing a reporter over a request for public information, denying public access to a report detailing institutional failures that allowed ongoing abuse of children, filing subpoenas to access reporters’ research and deleting communications sought by reporters.

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