The Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards honor outstanding reporting of problems of the disadvantaged. Known among the press as the "poor people's Pulitzers", the RFK Journalism Award winners have covered such diverse issues as child abuse, juvenile crime, bank redlining and discrimination against people living with AIDS.

It is the largest program of its kind and one of the few in which the winners are judged solely by their peers. Past winners include Diane Sawyer of ABC, The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, National Public Radio, and CBS's "60 Minutes."

Of the RFK Journalism Award, it has been written, "This award is one of the most prestigious in the journalism community. It says proudly and boldly that the least of us in society will not be forgotten."