From an integrated perspective, this article regards official journalism prizes simultaneously as a program of social control, cultural consecration, and social recognition. Using field and statistical data, it answers three questions concerning institutional evolution, rule system, and social sources of judges and their gatekeeping practices. Official journalism awards always operate according to the state-governed model—professional organizations serving as the agent of the party-state, organize and produce the awards. The rule systems consist of dual sponsorship, recommendation unit, and linkage, each of which exercises certain social control functions. The social sources of judges have been stable over time, and their gatekeeping practices of honor are subtle and complicated.