Oklahoma

Oklahoma Press Association

Founded in 1906

Since 2025, the Oklahoma Press Association (OPA) has awarded the A-Mark Prize for Investigative Reporting as part of its annual Better Newspaper Contest. Staff at publications that are current OPA legal newspaper members or general news media members are eligible to enter, as well as non-member publications that meet the qualifications of legal newspaper or general news media membership in OPA.

Entries will be judged on:

  • Journalist’s initiative and effort;
  • Uncovering facts that were unknown to the public and/or may have been deliberately hidden;
  • Being an issue of public importance;
  • Demonstrated excellence in storytelling, data collection and interpretation, documentation, presentation, and reader involvement where appropriate; and
  • Results.

A-Mark Prize Recipients

2025

First Place

Garrett Yalch and Clifton Adcock, “Fields of green: Oklahoma’s medical marijuana black market,” The Frontier

Second Place

Andy Dossett, “Crypto kings and broken promises: Bartlesville’s iconic Price Tower,” (PDF), Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise

Third Place

Ruby Topalian, “Pay or your son dies: Oklahoma inmates’ families extorted by inside gangs,” Oklahoma Watch