The 19th won a national Edward R. Murrow Award for its breaking news reporting on President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 election and the kickoff of Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.

It’s the second Murrow Award for The 19th, which won last year for its series on pregnancy in modern-day America. 

Once Harris became the likely Democratic presidential nominee, it became THE 19th story for us to cover well — a story about gender and politics, democracy, and the struggle for power.

A woman of color could reach the highest office in the country. 

We knew it would be critical to ensure that our coverage stayed grounded in policy and that we were centering what our audience needed to know. Much of what you see in our breaking news coverage reflects this. Our goal was to help voters make informed decisions in a major election year. We knew our audiences cared about who was running — but they also cared about the issues, including abortion, child care, gun control and climate.  

Here’s a glimpse into how our newsroom covered this event: On Sunday, July 21, 2024, at 12:46 p.m. CT, Biden announced he was dropping out of the presidential race. Our first story was published seven minutes later, breaking this extraordinary news to our audiences. Editor-at-large Errin Haines went on to report on The 19th’s Instagram that another historic decision was made: Biden endorsed Harris to replace him at the top of the ticket. 

The 19th’s editors anticipated this news and mobilized the newsroom to focus on publishing breaking news coverage that would add context to the moment, like how a Harris candidacy could supercharge Democrats’ message on abortion and which leaders and advocates were lining up to support her. Our reporters explained the process for getting Harris on the ticket and the subject line on our breaking news newsletter reflected the question our audiences were asking: “What just happened?” We answered using our journalism. 

We gave depth to Harris’s first remarks following the initial news, and Haines explored the power of a potential two-woman ticket. 

The next day, our momentum continued. Our reporters talked to Democratic women running for Senate who were united behind Harris, explained why “Kamala is brat,” reported Harris raising $81 million in the 24 hours and considered who she might pick as VP. 

On day three, our audiences responded across platforms to our reporting on how 44,000 Black women gathered on Zoom, the early enthusiasm around the campaign and how Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff was talking about abortion rights. Throughout the week we stayed on the story and continued to find unique 19th angles to serve our audiences on the platforms they preferred. Haines hosted a podcast episode with Brittany Packnett Cunningham unpacking the news; we looked at the Momala economy; how racist and misogynist disinformation was being used; the power of Black sororities; how Harris’ time as a prosecutor could shape her abortion policies; her LGBTQ+ support; and how White women broke Zoom.

This breaking news coverage showed us, and our audiences, that we could serve them well during a consequential news event with good planning, timeliness, accurate information and unique angles. In surveys afterward, audience members said they looked to The 19th’s journalism in this moment, and we rose to the occasion by showing up in a multitude of ways across platforms. To do this as a relatively small newsroom, we had to work efficiently to ensure our coverage was in-depth and wide-reaching. The Murrows recognizing this kind of effort on the national stage is a huge honor.