Mother Jones’ Garrison Hayes Wins Distinguished Webby Award for Best Creator

Hayes’ Groundbreaking Social Video Journalism Examines America’s Undercovered Histories of Race, Politics, and Faith

Mother Jones announced today that its video correspondent, Garrison Hayes, who publishes riveting videos that examine race in the United States, won the elite internet award for Best Creator on social media. The Webby Awards are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, and are considered the premier honor recognizing videos, podcasts, and other online content. Hayes will be feted along with dozens of other winners on May 13 in New York City.

“We are deeply honored—but secretly not surprised!—to see Garrison’s peerless journalism recognized as the best in this truly global competition,” said James West, Mother Jones’ Executive Editor. “We’re constantly amazed at his ability to put the most pressing events of the day into a historical context that explores race and identity. Garrison Hayes’ voice is essential to anyone trying to make sense of America during this all-important election year.”

Hayes’ newsroom role as a creator on platforms like Instagram and TikTok remains something of a rarity in the news industry. During his nearly 18 months with Mother Jones, Hayes has produced dozens of inquisitive and insightful videos that have been viewed millions of times. They include an exploration of the social construct of “white people”; another in which he read racist reactions to one of his earlier videos about reparations; and a third that featured a rarely seen TV interview from 1967 with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. discussing the Israel-Palestine conflict. In April 2023, Hayes secured an exclusive interview with Tennessee state legislator Gloria Johnson, on the eve of Republicans’ vote there to oust her and two other Democratic lawmakers for staging a gun control protest on the House floor.

Before coming to Mother Jones, Hayes established himself as an influential creator on social media, where he has personally amassed a following of 372,000 on TikTok and 158,000 on Instagram to date. Based in Nashville, Hayes is a former pastor who developed a deep connection with his congregation when called upon to lead their digital strategy during the pandemic. In 2022, he became one of 25 people selected for Snapchat’s first-ever Black Creator Accelerator program.