The Marshall Project, St. Louis Public Radio and APM Reports were honored with the 2025 Brechner Freedom of Information Award for their work on the collaborative investigative project, “Unsolved.” The multipart investigation explored why 1,000 homicides in St. Louis remain unsolved and how staff shortages, shoddy detective work and lack of community trust have complicated the ability of authorities to resolve these cases and bring closure to loved ones.
The award recognized the project’s transparency and its role in illuminating critical issues of public interest through investigative and extensive reporting.
The project was among this year’s 40 global entries. The five-part series and interactive map of unsolved homicides was published by the St. Louis Public Radio, The Marshall Project and APM Reports, as part of the Public Media Accountability Initiative, which supports investigative reporting at local media outlets around the country. The Brechner Freedom of Information Award has celebrated exceptional journalism and public records use that advances government transparency and public information since 1986.
“We are thrilled to be recognized with this award in partnership with St. Louis Public Radio and APM Reports,” said Marshall Project acting Editor-in-Chief Geraldine Sealey. “This wonderful honor comes as we launch our new St. Louis-based news team, which will serve the state of Missouri with its reporting and media partnerships.”
The Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications reports that judges selected “Unsolved” for its “in-depth reporting and impact, offering an investigative look at the case files and systemic issues that have contributed to a lack of resolution in numerous criminal cases and demonstrated the persistence of the reporting team in getting access to these records after nearly three years of challenging the St. Louis Police Department.”
The reporting effort included 18 months of litigation, led by APM Reports, to obtain key details about homicide cases that the police department was shielding from the public.
The project ended with a summary of five takeaways that focused on how the St. Louis police department has had staff shortages, a backlog at the crime lab and a lack of trust in the community — all impacting the department’s ability to solve murders.
“Not only did the series make an impact on the community, their work led to a change in policy that allows for more data to be accessed to the public,” Kelly Kauffman, engagement reporter at MuckRock, a nonprofit that aids people in acquiring public records, and one of the judges told the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project.
Staffers who worked on the project included Alysia Santo, Katie Park and Anna Flagg of The Marshall Project, Rachel Lippmann and Brian Munoz from St. Louis Public Radio, and Tom Scheck and Jennifer Lu from APM Reports.
The other honorees included: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s “Hidden Homicides: Violence, Chaos and Secrecy Inside the Georgia Prison System” and The Associated Press’ “Prison to Plate: Profiting Off America’s Captive Workforce” which received second and third place, respectively.
