PORTLAND – Now entering its 48th year, the Bruce Baer Award will once again celebrate Oregon’s top public-affairs reporting during a ceremony this Spring. The award honors the memory of Bruce Baer, who died from cancer in 1977 at the age of 40. Having worked in both the print and broadcast media, he was considered the dean of the Oregon Capitol press corps. 

Nominated works for the Bruce Baer Award must have originally been disseminated in 2024 and will be judged by a panel of experts. Any work produced for mass distribution (print, radio, television, new media) can be nominated. Successful nominations are of works that are: (a) investigative; (b) focused on political and public-affairs issues; (c) of high quality; and (d) reflect courage in the reporting process. The award for the grand prize is $1,500, provided by a fundraising campaign initiated by the Friends of Bruce Baer in partnership with the Portland State University Foundation. 

The deadline for entries is April 11th, 2025 by 5:00 pm. Winner(s) will be notified in May. Entries must be accompanied by a nomination form. Please submit electronic documents (e.g., PDFs of stories) with email entries (including nomination forms) to: Dr. Lee Shaker (lshaker@pdx.edu). Please include “Bruce Baer” in the email subject line. Alternatively, please send physical paperwork (postmarked by April 11th) to:

Lee Shaker 

PSU / SP-COMM 

PO Box 751 

Portland, OR 97207