A writer for Idea Lab, a group blog hosted on the website of PBS, described the award as "one of only a couple of journalism prizes that means anything".

[5]The awards were established in 1949, in memory of George Polk, a CBS News correspondent who was murdered in March 1948 while covering the Greek Civil War.

[6] In 2009, John Darnton, a former editor with The New York Times, was named curator of the George Polk Awards.

[9][10] Steven Thrasher criticized the issuance of the awards to the New York Times, saying that the newspaper's article, "Screams Without Words", had been discredited.

[11] In addition, the George Polk Career Award is given in recognition of an individual's lifelong achievements.