Mencken Award Finalists, 1982–1996

(Winners are listed in boldface and with asterisks. Other nominees are listed alphabetically by author. In some categories, the information is incomplete.)

Best Book

1996: 

* Virtually Normal: An Argument About Homosexuality, by Andrew Sullivan (Knopf)

Simple Rules for a Complex World, by Richard Epstein (Harvard)

XXX: A Woman’s Right to Pornography, by Wendy McElroy (St. Martin’s)

Satan’s Silence: Ritual Abuse and the Making of a Modern Witch Hunt, by Debbie Nathan and Michael Snedeker (Basic)

1995:

* Lost Rights, by James Bovard (St. Martin’s)

Sex and Sensibility, by Marcia Palley (Ecco)

Separating School and State, by Sheldon Richman (Future of Freedom Foundation)

Race and Culture, by Thomas Sowell (Basic)

Cruel Compassion, by Thomas Szasz (Open Court)

1994: 

* Satanic Panic: The Creation of a Contemporary Legend, by Jeffrey Victor (Open Court)

America’s Longest War: Rethinking Our Tragic Crusade Against Drugs, by Steven Duke and Albert Gross (Tarcher)

Ain’t Nobody’s Business If You Do: The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in a Free Society, by Peter McWilliams (Prelude Press)

The Catholic Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, by Michael Novak (Free Press)

Out of Work: Unemployment and Government in 20th Century America, by Richard Vedder and Lowell Gallaway (Holmes & Meier)

1993: 

* Africa Betrayed, by George Ayittey (St. Martin’s)

Forbidden Grounds, by Richard Epstein (Harvard)

Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the Gulf War, by John MacArthur (Hill & Wang)

The Hacker Crackdown, by Bruce Sterling (Bantam)

Our Right to Drugs, by Thomas Szasz (Greenwood)

1992:

* Parliament of Whores, by P.J. O’Rourke (Atlantic Monthly Press)

The Fair Trade Fraud, by James Bovard (St. Martin’s)

The Culture of Spending, by James Payne (Institute for Contemporary Studies)

The Fourth Estate and the Constitution, by Lucas Scot Powe (University of California)

Cocaine Politics: Drugs, Armies, and the CIA in Central America, by Peter Dale Scott and Jonathan Marshall (University of California)

Freedom, Technology and the First Amendment, by Jonathan Emord (Pacific Research Institute)

1991:

* The Excluded Americans: Homelessness and Housing Policies, by William Tucker (Regnery)

The Enterprise of Law, by Bruce Benson (Pacific Research Institute)

Means of Ascent: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Volume II, by Robert Caro (Knopf)

Politics, Markets, and America’s Schools, by John Chubb and Terry Moe (Brookings)

Stalin’s Apologist, by S.J. Taylor (Oxford)

1990:

* Wartime: Understanding and Behavior in the Second World War, by Paul Fussell (Oxford)

The Rights Retained by the People: The History and Meaning of the Ninth Amendment, edited by Randy Barnett (George Mason)

The Farm Fiasco, by James Bovard (Institute for Contemporary Studies)

The Other Path: The Invisible Revolution in the Third World, by Hernando de Soto (Harper & Row)

Lords of Poverty: The Power, Prestige, and Corruption of the International Aid Business, by Graham Hancock (Atlantic Monthly Press)

1989:

* Freedom at Risk: Secrecy, Censorship & Repression, edited by Richard Curry (Temple)

Liability: The Legal Revolution and Its Consequences, by Peter Huber (Basic)

The Third Century: America’s Resurgence in the Asian Era, by Joel Kotkin and Yoriko Kishimoto (Crown)

In Pursuit of Happiness and Good Government, by Charles Murray (Simon & Schuster)

The Suicidal Corporation: How Big Business Fails America, by Paul Weaver (Simon & Schuster)

1988:

* Dealing with Drugs, edited by Ronald Hamowy (Lexington)

Keeper of Concentration Camps: Dillon Myer and American Racism, by Richard Drinnon (University of California)

The Velvet Prison: Artists Under State Socialism, by Miklos Harasti (Basic)

Crisis and Leviathan: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government, by Robert Higgs (Oxford)

After Apartheid: The Solution for South Africa, by Frances Kendeall and Leon Louw (Institute for Contemporary Studies)

American Broadcasting and the First Amendment, by Lucas Powe (University of California)

1987:

* The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivization and the Terror-Famine, by Robert Conquest (Oxford)

The Passion of Ayn Rand, by Barbara Branden (Doubleday)

No State Shall Abridge: The 14th Amendment and the Bill of Rights, by Michael Kent Curtis (Duke)

Will It Liberate? Questions about Liberation Theology, by Michael Novak (Paulist Press)

A Question of Sedition: The Federal Government’s investigation of the Black Press During World War II, by Patrick Washburn (Oxford)

1986:

* Emergence of a Free Press, by Leonard Levy (Oxford)

Takings: Private Property and the Power of Eminent Domain, by Richard Epstein (Harvard)

National Economic Planning: What is Left? by Don Lavoie (Cato)

Journey to the Forbidden China, by Stephen Mosher (Macmillan)

Behind the Lines: The Private War Against Soviet Censorship, by Donald Shanor (St. Martin’s)

1985: 

* Cities and the Wealth of Nations, by Jane Jacobs (Random House)

Endless Enemies: The Making of an Unfriendly World, by Jonathan Kwitny (Congdon & Weed)

Beyond Liberal and Conservative: Reassessing the Political Spectrum, by William Maddox and Stuart Lilie (Cato)

Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950–1980, by Charles Murray (Basic)

Judgment in Berlin, by Herbert Stein (Universe)

1984: 

* The Price of Power: Kissinger in the Nixon White House, by Seymour Hersh (Summit)

The Threat: Inside the Soviet Military Machine, by Andrew Cockburn (Random House)

Healing America, by Richard Cornuelle (Putnam)

Mill on Liberty: A Defense, by John Gray (Routledge)

Modern Times, by Paul Johnson (Harper & Row)

The Therapeutic State, by Thomas Szasz (Prometheus)

1983:

* The Path to Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Volume I, by Robert Caro (Knopf)

Sweet Land of Liberty: The Supreme Court and Individual Rights, by Henry Holzer (Common Sense)

Tomorrow, Capitalism, by Henri LePage (Open Court)

The Ethics of Liberty, by Murray Rothbard (Humanities)

Progress and Privilege: America in the Age of Environmentalism, by William Tucker (Doubleday)

The State Against Blacks, by Walter Williams (McGraw-Hill)

1982:

* Ethnic America, by Thomas Sowell (Basic)

Equality, the Third World, and Economic Delusion, by P.T. Bauer (Harvard)

Is Public Education Necessary? by Samuel Blumenfeld (Devin-Adair)

Teach Your Own, by John Holt (Delacorte)

Instead of Regulation, edited by Robert Poole (Lexington)

The Other Side of Racism, by Anne Wortham (Ohio State)

Best Cartoon

1996:

* “Reno Explains Waco,” by Michael P. Ramirez (USA Today)

“Two Worlds, Two Languages,” by Frank Cammuso (Syracuse Herald-Journal)

“I Am Not a Crook!” by Steve Kelley (San Diego Union-Tribune)

“Ahem...” by Jeff Koterba (Omaha World-Herald)

“Want to Buy Some American CDs?” by Michael P. Ramirez (Memphis Commercial Appeal)

1995:

* “Eerie Parallels,” by John Bergstrom (Liberty and Slick Times)

“Welfare Reform,” by Mark Cullum (Birmingham News)

“Makes a Lot of Sense,” by Dennis Renault (Sacramento Bee)

“It’s My Opponent’s Position,” by Tom Toles (New Republic)

“Republicans and Government,” by Tom Tomorrow (self-syndicated)

1994:

“Which Greedy, Deceptive, Inefficient Bureaucracy?” by Mike Thompson (State Journal Register)

“The Competitive Marketplace for Everything...but Education,” by Chuck Asay (Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph)

“Three Presidents Promise to End the Deficit,” by Mark Cullum (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

“Welcome to 1994: You’ll Need a Government Number, ID, License...” by Bob Gorrell (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

“New Immigration Policy: Bring Me Your Resume, Your Character Reference, Medical Records, Credit Report...” by Jim Margulies (Hackensack Record)

1993:

* “Sobriety Checkpoint: You VILL Pull Over,” by Chip Bok (Akron Beacon Journal)

“Never Again...Pass It On,” by Chris Britt (Tacoma Morning News Tribune)

“Wiping Out the American Indians,” by Steve Greenberg (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

“Welfare State: The New Melting Pot,” by Mike Ramirez (Memphis Commercial Appeal)

“Huddled Haitians: Yearning to Breathe Free,” by Thomas Szep (Boston Globe)

1992:

* “How to Save the Elephants: Bureaucrats or Businessmen?” by Chuck Asay (Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph)

David Catrow (Springfield News-Sun)

Steve Greenberg (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Matt Groening (Acme Features Syndicate)

Steve Kelley (San Diego Union)

Henry Payne (Scripps Howard)

1991:
* “Advice on Building a Free Society,” by Jim Morin (Miami Herald)
“Eastern-Bloc Dissidents vs. American Lawbreakers?” by Chuck Asay (Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph)

“How Dare You! Mrs. Grundy vs. Flag-burner,” by Bailey (Daily Iowan)

“Soviets Adopt a U.S.-Style Executive,” by Steve Benson (Tacoma News-Tribune)

“George Bush in the Virginia House of Burgesses,” by Mark Cullum (Birmingham News)

“Caught: Mapplethorpe Photos, Flag-Burning, 2 Live Crew Tape,” by Scott Willis (San Jose Mercury News)

1990:
* “First Amendment Exceptions,” by Tom Toles (Buffalo News)

“Justice Delayed,” by Steve Greenberg (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

“Visit China Again: What Never Happened Is Over,” by Dick Locher (Chicago Tribune)

“A Personal Decision,” by Mike Peters (Dayton Daily News)

“Voting with Their Feet: The Communist Bloc Disintegrates,” by Dana Summers (Orlando Sentinel)

“The Iron Fist Closes,” by Don Wright (Palm Beach Post)

1989:
* “We Have to Draw the Line Somewhere,” by Bob Engelhart (Hartford Courant)

“Supreme Court Trashes Individual Rights,” by Walt Handelsman (Scranton Times)

“Stopping AIDS vs. Stopping Drugs,” by Jim Margulies (Houston Post)

“Where Urine Samples Go,” by Joe Shardnack (Daily Iowan)

“Drug Testing in the Workplace,” by John Trever (Albuquerque Journal)

1988:
* “The Normal Have Nothing to Fear,” by Ben Sargent (Austin American-Statesman)

“How Are They Going to Celebrate the Bicentennial of the Constitution?” by Tony Auth (Philadelphia Inquirer)

“Stick Figures: Falwell vs. Hustler,” by Bob Englehart (Hartford Courant)

“NSC Shredder Shreds U.S. Constitution,” by Mike Luckovich (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

“Which Group?” by Jim Margulies (Houston Post)

“Send Them Back,” by Mike Peters (Dayton News and Journal-Herald)

“Quiz: Which Government Jails Foreign Journalists on Trumped-Up Charges?” Don Wright (Miami News)

1987:
* “Stop Me, Big Brother, Before I...” by Chuck Asay (Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph)

“Well...I Guess Once the Conservatives Got Government Off Our Backs, They Had to Put It Someplace,” by Lee Judge, (Kansas City Times)

“Darned American Food! Give Them a Taste of It and First Thing You Know They’re Hungry Again!” by Dana Summers (Orlando Sentinel)

1986:

* “Pick the Most Offensive Record,” by Clay Bennett (St. Petersburg Times)

“Speaking of Hostages...” by Paul Conrad (Los Angeles Times)

“To Preserve Secrecy,” by Herbert Block (Washington Post)

“Mandatory Seat Belt Laws,” by Lee Judge (Kansas City Times)

“Trade Restrictions,” by Dick Wright (Providence Journal Bulletin)

1985:

* “I Always Say...” by Bob Thaves (Newspaper Enterprise Association)

“Death Squad and Victims,” by Tony Auth (Philadelphia Inquirer)

“Sitting Ducks,” by Paul Conrad (Los Angeles Times)

“African Aid,” by Pat Oliphant (Universal Press Syndicate)

“The Warren Burger,” by Bill Schorr (Los Angeles Herald Examiner)

1984:
* “Pick the Person Who Lives Under a Government That Puts Him Under Curfew from Midnight to 5 AM,” by Scott Stantis (Copley News Service)

“The Flag of the Unbridled Self-Interests of America,” by Jim Borgman (Cincinnati Enquirer)

“Congressional Deficit Plumbers,” by Steve Kelley (San Diego Union)

“Inheritance Taxes,” by Brant Parker and Johnny Hart (The Wizard of Id, News American syndicate)

“Project Democracy in Nicaragua,” by Dan Wasserman (Washington Post)

1983:

* “Trade Barriers,” by John Trever (Albuquerque Journal)

“This Child Has the Right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness!” by Chuck Asay (Colorado Springs Sun)

Ranan Lurie (London Times)

Jeff MacNelly (Chicago Tribune)

Mike Peters (Dayton Daily News)

“A Foreign Import,” by Milt Priggee (Dayton Journal-Herald)

1982:

* “Bazooka Bubblegum,” by Berke Breathed (Bloom County, Washington Post syndicate)

“LP10: A Cartoonist’s Eye View,” by Scott Bieser (Free Texas)

“Compulsory Education,” by Scott Bieser (Free Texas)

“Turnabout,” by Eric Maynard (Individual Liberty)

“Government on Our Backs,” by Ben Sargent (Austin American-Statesman)

Best Editorial or Op-Ed Column

1996: 

* “Journeys Amid Paranoia,” by Alexander Cockburn (The Nation)

“Abortion Battles Limit Rights for All,” by Robyn Blumner (St. Petersburg Times)

“There’s No Place in America for a Ministry of Culture,” by Jeff Jacoby (Boston Globe)

“Persecuting Militias Only Asks for Trouble,” by Laird Wilcox (Newsday)

1995:

* “The Children’s Hour,” by Virginia Postrel (Reason)

“Banks Failure Signals End of Cronyism in Venezuela,” by Carlos A. Ball (Wall Street Journal)

“Hello, Hillary,” by Michael Kinsley (New Republic)

“Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll,” by Vin Suprynowicz (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

“Immigration Doesn’t Displace Natives,” by Richard Vedder (Wall Street Journal)

1994: 

* “The Waco Massacre,” by Alex McColl (Soldier of Fortune)

“Unconstitutional Marijuana Law is Political, Not Criminal,” by Geo Beach (Great Expectations)

“Outcome-Based Education” (series), by Robert Holland (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

 “Population Means Progress, Not Poverty,” by Sheldon Richman (Washington Post)

“Double Jeopardy: The Two Rodney King Trials,” unsigned lead editorial (Waterbury Republican-American)

1993:

* “Remember Nayirah, Witness for Kuwait?” by John MacArthur (New York Times)

runner-up: “Oregon’s Inquisition I: Anti-Gay Measure Uses Big Lie,” unsigned editorial (The Oregonian)

1992: ?

1991:

* “What We Really Need is Amendment to Stop Lies,” by Mike Royko (Chicago Tribune)

“Serving the State: The Panacea of National Service,” by Doug Bandow (Copley News Service)

“Red Army Deserter: Lithuania in Revolt,” by John Budris (Radio Vilnius World Service)

“Coming Out Right,” by Robert Scheer (Playboy)

“Reviewing Our Lessons: Vietnam 101,” by Dan Whipple (Casper Star-Tribune)

“Fear of Difference Motivates Would-Be Censors,” by Tom Wicker (New York Times)

1990:

* “When They Burned the Flag Back Home,” by James Warner (Washington Post)

“Immigration,” unsigned editorial series (Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph)

“Open Letter to Chinese People,” by Jonathan Freedman (San Diego Tribune)

“Religion, Culture Can’t Define Freedom,” by Jeff Greenfield (Universal Press Syndicate)

“Hell No, I Won’t Go: End the War on Drugs,” by Ellen Willis (Village Voice)

1989:

* “La Prensa: Economic Freedom and the Press,” by Doug Bandow (Copley News Service)

“Drugs: Old Problems, New Options” (series), by Thomas Bray, John Barnes, Jeffrey Hadden, Warren Brookes, and others (Detroit News)

“Adoption Law Would Put Culture Above Children,” by Joanne Jacobs (San Jose Mercury News)

“All the World’s a (Satellite) Dish,” unsigned lead editorial (The Economist)

“Dealing with Drugs,” unsigned editorial series (Oakland Tribune)

1988:

* “Now Meese Wants Teachers Urine-Tested,” by Charles Levendosky (Casper Star-Tribune)

“The Day We Lost the Constitution,” by Doug Bandow (Copley News Service)

“Congressional Bookburners,” by Warren Brookes (Detroit News)

“Instant Heroes,” by Joanne Jacobs (San Jose Mercury News)

“Set TV/Radio Free,” by A.M. Rosenthal (New York Times)

1987:

* “The Challenger Tragedy: Which America Should We Send to the Stars?” by John Dentinger (Los Angeles Daily News)

1986:

* “Taxpayers vs. the Proposed Convention Center,” by Linda Paustian (Philadelphia Inquirer)

“Apartheid vs. Capitalism,” by Steve Chapman (Chicago Tribune)

“Turn Off Public Television,” by David Kelley (Barron’s)

“A Sickle by Any Other Name,” by Mary Lawrence (Indianapolis News)

“Let’s Also Restore Lady Liberty’s Real Meaning,” by Richard Maybury (Wall Street Journal)

“Law and Disorder in Philly,” by Butler Shaffer (Orange County Register)

1985:

* “Feminism and the First Amendment,” by Jonathan Marshall (Oakland Tribune)

“Continued Futility,” by Alan Bock (Orange County Register)

“In Praise of Homework,” by David Kelley (Barron’s)

“Uneasy Alliance,” by William Safire (New York Times)

“Shooting Up on Censorship,” unsigned lead editorial (Chicago Tribune)

1984:

* “Saving Wild Animals,” by Sudha Shenoy (Seattle Times)

“To Catch Kidnappers, First Free the Police,” by Patrick Cox (USA Today)

“Justice by the Numbers,” by Francis Flaherty (The Progressive)

“Laws and Nasty Habits,” by Vermont Royster (Wall Street Journal)

“Economic Freedom and the First Amendment,” by Brian Summer (Indianapolis Star)

1983 (a tie):

* “Fighting the Next War,” by Nicholas von Hoffman (King Features)

* “Protectionist Paranoia,” by Michael Kinsley (New Republic)

“Compulsory Schooling Should Give Way to Free Markets and Free Minds,” by John Dentinger (Los Angeles Times)

“The Stampede of Statists,” by Bradley Miller (Dallas Morning News)

“No Rights in a Democracy,” by Raymond Newman, (WVOX-AM)

“The Folly of Voluntary Prayer,” by Kate Stanley (Indianapolis Star-Tribune)

1982:

* “Bigotry and Tolerance,” by Roy Childs (Libertarian Review)

“Is There a Libertarian Foreign Policy?” by David Friedman (Frontlines)

“Lennon: What is to be Done?” by Milton Mueller (Libertarian Review)

“USSR: The Crumbling of an Empire,” by Robert Poole (Reason)

“Smash the Onion!” by Sheldon Richman (Individual Liberty)

Best Feature Story or Essay

1996:

* “This is Not the USA,” by Jim DeFede (Miami New Times)

“So Who’s Counting?” by Brian Doherty (Reason)

“April 19, 1995: A View to a Kill,” by Thomas Fleming (Chronicles)

“Do You See What I See?” by Michelle Dally Johnston (Denver Westword)

“The Mirage of Peace,” by Edward Said (The Nation)

1995:

* “No Exit,” by Elizabeth McCaughey (New Republic)

“Universal Service, an Idea Whose Time is Past,” by John Browning (Wired)

“The False Promise of Gun Control,” by Daniel D. Polsby (The Atlantic)

“Compost of Empire,” by Bruce Sterling (Wired)

“The Impotent American Voter,” by Richard Winger (Chronicles)

1994:

* “Blood Money: French Hemophiliacs Are Dying of AIDS Because French Officials Knowingly Gave Them Tainted Blood,” by Mark Hunter (Discover)

“Lost Generation: What Happened to the Children of Argentina’s Disappeared?” by Brook Larmer (Newsweek)

“Let’s See Some Papers: In El Paso, Looking Latin is a Crime,” by Tina Plaza (The Progressive)

“Rape Hype Betrays Feminism,” by Katie Roiphe (New York Times Magazine)

“Prisoner of Conscience,” by Stan Yarbro (Miami New Times)

1993:

* “Slavery,” by Tom Masland, Rod Nordland, Melinda Liu, and Joseph Contreras (Newsweek)

1992:

* “Journalists and the Drug War,” by David Boaz (Liberty)

1991:

* “Revolution in D Minor: How the Czech Philharmonic Toppled Communism,” by Paul Berman (Village Voice)

“Midwife on Trial,” by Anneke Campbell (East West)

“What Price Panama? A Visit to a Barrio Destroyed by U.S. Forces,” by Francisco Goldman (Harper’s)

“An In-House Education: Parents Reject Public Schools,” by Susan McAtee Monday (San Antonio Light)

“The Slave Who Sued for Freedom,” by Jon Swan (American Heritage)

1990:

* “All the Congressman’s Men: How Capitol Hill Controls the Press,” by Walter Karp (Harper’s)

“Can Apartheid Survive? South Africa’s Blacks Are Realizing Their Quiet Economic Power,” by Andrew Clark (Reason)

“Wired: The Loaded Politics of Cable TV,” by Thomas Hazlett (New Republic)

“A Political Opiate,” by Lewis Lapham (Harper’s)

“In the Red: A Report from the USSR on Perestroika Imperiled,” by John Powers (L.A. Weekly)

1989:

* “China’s Andrei Sakharov,” by Orville Schell (The Atlantic)

“Ronnie, We Really Knew Ye,” by Dave Barry (Miami Herald)

“Protesters Seek Bank on Scorcese’s ‘Last Temptation,’ by Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times)

“A Wish for Kings,” by Lewis Lapham (Harper’s)

“The Spy Who Said No,” by Anthony Schmitz (Mother Jones)

1988:

* “The Erotic Stripped Bare,” by Linda Mizejewski (Harper’s)

“FCC Cleans Up the Airwaves,” by Robert Corn (The Nation)

“Sworn to Silence,” by Donna DeMac (The Progressive)

“FCC Doublespeak: Fair is Foul,” by Lois Sheinfeld (Film Comment)

“What Really Makes Us Free,” by Elie Wiesel (Parade)

1987:

* “Castro’s Victims,” by Aryeh Neier (New York Review of Books)

1986:

* “Convicting the First Amendment of Espionage: Samuel Morison’s Case,” by Nat Hentoff (Village Voice)

“Wireless Tapping,” by Robert Corn (Reason)

“Life with the Fairness Doctrine,” by Ed Hinshaw (Television Quarterly)

“Liberty Under Siege: The Reagan Administration’s Taste for Autocracy,” by Walter Karp (Harper’s)

“Park Service Land-Grab,” by Michael Weiss (The Progressive)

1985:

* “Simon Geller vs. the FCC,” by Robert Bidinotto (Intellectual Activist)

“The Persecution of Andrei Sakharov,” by Lawrence Elliott (Reader’s Digest)

“The Principals of Censorship,” by Nat Hentoff (The Progressive)

“Dialyzing for Dollars,” by Michael Kronman (Reason)

“The War on Drugs is Over: The Government Has Lost,” by Jack Shafer (Inquiry)

1984:

* “Killing Us Softly With Their Song,” by Asa Baber (Playboy)

“The Academy and the Marketplace,” by John Hospers (The Freeman)

“The Censor, the Angel and the Axe,” by John Leonard (Vanity Fair)

“Bum Rap for the Box,” by Eric Mink (Washington Journalism Review)

“The Protection Racket,” by Richard Wilcke (Inquiry)

1983:

* “Tales of the Vienna Airport,” by Joseph Nocera (Harper’s)

“Stop the Revolution Without Us,” by Paul Berman (Village Voice)

“Throwing Libel Out of Court,” by Nat Hentoff (Inquiry)

“Denationalize Old Age Insurance” by Jeffrey Rogers Hummel (Caliber)

“Why Not Silicon Valleys for All?” by Norman Macrae (The Economist)

1982:

* “Protocols of the Learned Experts on Heroin” by Thomas Szasz (Libertarian Review)

“Saving the Wilderness: A Radical Proposal,” by John Baden and Richard Stroup (Reason)

“Getting Streetwise in St. Louis,” by Theodore Gage (Reason)

“Poland: Renewal or Revolution?” by Justin Raimondo (Libertarian Vanguard)

“The Politics of Aquarius,” by Jeff Riggenbach (Libertarian Review)

Best News Story or Investigative Report

1996:

* “Anatomy of a Killing” (series), by Seth Rosenfeld (San Francisco Examiner)

“War on Poverty Mismanaged” (series), by Steve Bennish and David Mendell (Dayton Daily News)

“End of the Line,” by Alan Pendergast (Denver Westword)

“Reseeding the Killing Fields,” by John Pilger (The Nation)

“Lazarus’ Dogged Determination,” by Chris Potter (In Pittsburgh)

1995 (a tie):

* “Profits from Pain,” by Fred Schulte and Jenni Bergal (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

* “Wasteland” (series), by Karen Dorn Steele and Jim Lynch (Spokesman-Review)

“The Name of Rose,” by L.J. Davis (New Republic)

“Reasonable Doubt,” by Scott Raab (Gentleman’s Quarterly)

“Running Up the Score” (series), by Bill Zlatos (In Pittsburgh)

1994:

* “The Forfeiture Racket: A Modest Weapon in the War on Drugs Can Be Used as a Bludgeon Against the Innocent,” by Gary Webb (San Jose Mercury News)

 “Up, Up and Away: Denver International Airport Exposed as Major Government Boondoggle” (series), by David Chandler (Denver Westword)

“Buried Memories, Broken Families” (series), by Stephanie Salter, Carol Ness, Elizabeth Godley (San Francisco Examiner)

“The Serbs Are Not the Only Ones Guilty of War Crimes in Bosnia” (series), by Rod Nordland (Newsweek)

1993:

* “Drug Forfeitures: Are Seizures ‘Legalized Theft’?” (series), by Dennis Cauchon (USA Today)

1992: 

* “The War That Didn’t Have to Happen: How U.S. Scuttled the Arab Peace Plan,” by Michael Emery (Village Voice)

1991:

* no winner (“none of the above” won the vote)

“The Phony War: Behind the Lines of Arizona’s Drug Battlefield,” by David Bodney (Phoenix New Times)

“Death in Frontera” (series), by Orange County Register staff

“Untruth in Testing: Racially Rigged Job Aptitude Data” (series), by Robert Holland (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

“The Other Keating,” by Dale Keiger (Cincinnati)

“The Special Ed Sweepstakes” by Rita McWilliams (Washington City Paper)

1990:

* “First Probe on USS Iowa disaster” (series), by John Hall and Steve Goldberg (Media General News Service)

“Germ Wars: Out of Control?” by John Bull and Peter Kelly (Harrisburg Patriot-News)

“The Great AIDS Quest,” by John Crewdson (Chicago Tribune)

“White House Secret Powers: The Backbone of Hidden Government” by Eve Pell (The Nation)

“The Quiet Coup: U.S. v. Morison—A Victory for Secret Government,” by Philip Weiss (Harper’s)

1989:

* “The Child-Pornography Myth” by Lawrence Stanley (Playboy)

“Hot Trash in Building 4060,” by Keith Epstein (The Progressive)

“Invasion of the City Snatchers,” by Sarah Foster (Reason)

“Shoot the Messenger,” by Dennis Pottenger (Sacramento)

“Spying in the Stacks: The FBI’s Invasion of Libraries,” by Natalie Robins (The Nation)

1988:

* “The Making of a Modern Witch Trial,” by Debbie Nathan (Village Voice)

“Crimes of Patriots,” by Jonathan Kwitny (Mother Jones)

“Policing America’s Writers,” by Herbert Mitgang (The New Yorker)

“Poisons from the Pentagon,” by Seth Shulman (The Progressive)

“The Homeless Issue: An Adman’s Dream,” by Martin Morse Wooster (Reason)

1987:

* “Braving the Border” by Jeff Smith and Ruben Hernandez (Phoenix New Times)

1986:

* “Deadly Force: Guns and Off-Duty Cops” (series), by Jane Fritsch and Jennifer Preston (Newsday)

“Murder of a Polish Priest,” by John Fox (Reader’s Digest)

“Africa’s Famine,” by Mort Rosenblum (Associated Press)

“Beyond Westmoreland: The Right’s Attack on the Press,” by Walter and Miriam Schneir (The Nation)

1985:

* “Heroin: The Unwinnable War” (series), by Glenn Garvin, Earl Byrd, John Holmes, and Charles Wheeler (Washington Times)

“Uncle Sam’s Hidden Poisons” (series), by Tom Harris and Jim Morris (Sacramento Bee)

“Escape from El Salvador” (series), by Dale Maharidge (Sacramento Bee)

“Message from Moscow,” by Cameron Swayze, Bob Madigan, and Kit Frewer (NBC Radio)

“Privacy in the Year of Orwell” (series), by Scott Winokur (San Francisco Examiner)

1984:

* “The Myth of M.I.T.I.,” by David Henderson (Fortune)

“The New Draft Resisters,” by David Brisson (East-West Journal)

“The Politics of Playboy TV,” by Stephen Koff (Cincinnati)

“Subverting the First Amendment,” by Michael McMenamin and Willian Gorenc (Reason)

“Murder or Self-Defense,” by Rick Rockwell (WHA-TV)

1983:

* “The Rise and Fall of a Ward Hack,” by Murray Waas (Inquiry)

“But in Baileyville, Maine, ‘The Word’ Was Too Much,” by Doug Cumming (Providence Journal-Bulletin)

“Solar Energy: No Profit in Politics,” by Byron Harris (The Atlantic) 

“Fighting with Failures,” by Dina Rasor (Reason)

“The System of Forced Labor in Russia,” by David Satter (Wall Street Journal)

1982:

* “Love Canal: The Truth Seeps Out,” by Eric Zuesse (Reason)

“War on Drugs: The Strange Story of Lyndon LaRouche,” by Chip Berlet (High Times)

“Socialism...on the Street Where You Live,” by Paul Ciotti (Reason)

“Burnett and the Beast,” by Nat Hentoff (Inquiry)