The Current GA’s Jabari Gibbs has won the top Government Reporting prize in the South’s most prestigious journalism competition for his in-depth and unflinching work examining how rivalries between Glynn County’s Board of Commissioners and the area District Attorney has affected criminal justice and the residents of Coastal Georgia.
Gibbs received the honor for his reporting examining financial overruns and management issues within the Glynn County (GA) District Attorney’s Office, which drew national attention following the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. The Current has spent the past five years uncovering corruption and demanding accountability in policing and the criminal justice system there. (View all Gibbs’ stories at this link: https://thecurrentga.org/author/jabari-gibbs/)
The recognition comes just weeks after Gibbs received second place in the national 2026 Report for America Local News Awards for his reporting on a Georgia woman charged with attempted murder under the state’s abortion law, marking back-to-back honors for his work.
“Jabari has become an essential reporter for Brunswick, the Golden Isles and Coastal Georgia,” said Margaret Coker, editor-in-chief and co-founder of The Current GA. “His reporting helps residents better understand the institutions that shape their lives and hold public officials accountable. That kind of journalism doesn’t happen overnight. It requires time, persistence and the support of a community that believes independent local reporting matters. Every day, our readers and donors make this work possible, and this award affirms the value of investing in journalism that serves the public.”
Gibbs joined The Current in 2024 as a full-time Accountability Reporter after a grassroots community drive to fund more public service journalism in the majority Black town of Brunswick and surrounding Glynn County, along with the support of Report for America.
The Green Eyeshade Awards announced its journalism awards last week, with The Current besting The Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald, among other larger, legacy newsrooms. The prizes, sponsored by the Society for Professional Journalists, recognize outstanding journalism across the southeastern United States, honoring excellence in print, digital, broadcast and visual media while celebrating reporting that informs the public and strengthens communities.
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About The Current GA
The Current GA is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom serving Coastal Georgia with in-depth, accountability-focused journalism. Through investigative reporting, explanatory stories and community-centered coverage, The Current GA provides fact-based reporting that helps residents better understand the issues shaping their communities.
