Press Release

Dec. 9, 2022

WashCOG opens nominations for its annual Kenneth F. Bunting Award

 SEATTLE – The Washington Coalition for Open Government is accepting nominations between now and Jan. 13 for its annual Kenneth F. Bunting Award for outstanding journalism in the interest of government transparency.

The Bunting Award recognizes journalists and media outlets for work that uses or advances Washington state’s open government laws, or educates citizens about them. The award honors the memory of the late Ken Bunting, an executive editor and associate publisher with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer who helped found WashCOG in 2002.

The coalition will present the Bunting Award at its annual Sunshine Breakfast March 17 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.  The annual event recognizes Washington state’s open-government champions, brings transparency advocates together and raises money for WashCOG.

Previous honorees include The Seattle Times; reporter Chris Ingalls and the KING 5 investigative team; journalist Eli Sanders, formerly of The Stranger; and Axios editor Rachel La Corte, formerly the Olympia bureau chief for The Associated Press.

The coalition is taking nominations for work published, broadcast or posted between July 1, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2022. The one-time, 18-month eligibility period is a result of WashCOG changing its annual awards breakfast to March instead of September because of the pandemic.

Use the downloadable form to nominate journalists and media outlets. Completed forms must be sent to us by mail or email before the end of business on Jan. 13. Find our contact information on the nomination form.

The Washington Coalition for Open Government is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization founded in 2002. We are an independent, broad-based advocate for public records, open meetings and informed citizens.