Lois Norder, recently retired senior editor for investigations at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, will receive the 2025 Lawrence Minard Editor Award. Created in memory of Lawrence “Laury” Minard, founding editor of Forbes Global and a former final judge for the Loeb Awards, this award recognizes excellence in business, financial and economic journalism editing.
It honors an editor whose work does not often receive public recognition.
Norder’s four-decade career has been defined by her relentless pursuit of accountability journalism, along with her achievements in building hand-coded databases, pioneering newsroom tools and guiding teams through complex investigations with hands-on support and compassion.
She began her career in Iowa. After graduating from Drake University, she held key editorial roles at the Shreveport Journal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Across these newsrooms, she directed investigations that led to policy reforms, criminal prosecutions and national recognition — exposing waste, fraud and abuse in housing, health care, education and the criminal justice system.
Widely regarded as the editor behind some of the most impactful journalism in regional newsrooms, Norder has earned recognition for a portfolio that includes the Doctors & Sex Abuse series, the award-winning Dangerous Dwellings and Unprotected, and exposés on Georgia’s prison system and a pediatric hospital. Her work has been honored with the Philip Meyer Journalism Award, the Scripps Howard Award and the National Headliners Award for Public Service.
Norder has shaped the careers of dozens of journalists and inspired newsroom-wide excellence. Her ability to lead with consistency, empathy and unwavering integrity exemplifies the values of the Minard Editor Award.
