The award is named for Jim S. Keat, a retired editor and foreign correspondent for the Baltimore Sun, who was a long-time advocate for public information access. Keat is a member of the MDDC Newspaper Hall of Fame.

Recipients include:

2019 - The Baltimore Sun

2018 - The Baltimore Sun and Baltimore Brew

2017 - The Baltimore Sun and the Montgomery County Sentinel

2016 - The Baltimore Sun

2015 - The Baltimore Sun

2014 - The Baltimore Sun