The 109th annual Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism, Letters, Drama and Music were announced Monday, May 5.
The prizes in Journalism, along with the names of the finalists in the competition, follow:
PUBLIC SERVICE
For a distinguished example of meritorious public service by a newspaper, magazine or news site through the use of its journalistic resources, including the use of stories, editorials, cartoons, photographs, graphics, videos, databases, multimedia or interactive presentations or other visual material, a gold medal.
Awarded to ProPublica for urgent reporting by Kavitha Surana, Lizzie Presser, Cassandra Jaramillo and Stacy Kranitz about pregnant women who died after doctors delayed urgently needed care for fear of violating vague “life of the mother” exceptions in states with strict abortion laws.
Also nominated as finalists in this category were: The Boston Globe, with contributions from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, for its sweeping coverage of the financial mismanagement of a major hospital chain, exposing how corporate malfeasance, personal greed and government neglect led to compromised care and deaths; and The New York Times for relentless reporting by Dave Philipps that forced Congress and the Pentagon to acknowledge the devastating brain injuries U.S. troops were suffering from the effects of repeated low level blasts during weapons training.
BREAKING NEWS REPORTING
For a distinguished example of local, state or national reporting of breaking news that, as quickly as possible, captures events accurately as they occur, and, as time passes, illuminates, provides context and expands upon the initial coverage, Fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
Awarded to the Staff of The Washington Post for urgent and illuminating coverage of the July 13 attempt to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, including detailed story-telling and sharp analysis that coupled traditional police reporting with audio and visual forensics.
Also nominated as finalists in this category were: Staff of Associated Press for fast, comprehensive and authoritative coverage of the assassination attempt on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, including vivid details from the scene followed by the first reporting on gaps in security measures by the Secret Service and local law enforcement; and Staffs of The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C., and The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer for collaborating on comprehensive and community-focused reporting on Hurricane Helene, which killed more than 200 people and damaged 70,000 homes and businesses in the western part of the state.
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING
For a distinguished example of investigative reporting, using any available journalistic tool, Fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
Awarded to the Staff of Reuters for a boldly reported exposé of lax regulation in the U.S. and abroad that makes fentanyl, one of the world’s deadliest drugs, inexpensive and widely available to users in the United States.
Also nominated as finalists in this category were: Staffs of Associated Press and FRONTLINE for a three-year investigation involving dozens of reporters and the creation of a database to document more than 1,000 deaths around the country in which police officers subdued victims with methods intended to be non-lethal; and Christopher Weaver, Anna Wilde Mathews, Mark Maremont, Tom McGinty and Andrew Mollica of The Wall Street Journal for a lucid, comprehensive series that revealed how insurance companies gamed the Medicare Advantage system and collected billions of dollars for nonexistent ailments while shunting expensive cases onto the public.
EXPLANATORY REPORTING
For a distinguished example of explanatory reporting that illuminates a significant and complex subject, demonstrating mastery of the subject, lucid writing and clear presentation, using any available journalistic tool, Fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
Awarded to Azam Ahmed and Christina Goldbaum of The New York Times and Matthieu Aikins, contributing writer, for an authoritative examination of how the United States sowed the seeds of its own failure in Afghanistan, primarily by supporting murderous militia that drove civilians to the Taliban.
Also nominated as finalists in this category were: Alexia Campbell, April Simpson and Pratheek Rebala of the Center for Public Integrity; Nadia Hamdan of Reveal; and Roy Hurst, contributor for Mother Jones for using innovative technology, archival research and personal storytelling to reveal how land titles granted to formerly enslaved Black men and women in the wake of the Civil War were unjustly revoked; and Annie Waldman, Duaa Eldeib, Max Blau and Maya Miller of ProPublica for a deep and haunting examination of how insurance companies quietly, and with little public scrutiny, deny mental health services to those in need.
LOCAL REPORTING
For a distinguished example of coverage of significant issues of local or statewide concern, demonstrating originality and community connection, using any available journalistic tool, Fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
Awarded to Alissa Zhu, Nick Thieme and Jessica Gallagher of The Baltimore Banner and The New York Times for a compassionate investigative series that captured the breathtaking dimensions of Baltimore’s fentanyl crisis and its disproportionate impact on older Black men, creating a sophisticated statistical model that The Banner shared with other newsrooms.
Also nominated as finalists in this category were: Mike Reicher, Lynda Mapes and Fiona Martin of The Seattle Times for their investigative series revealing how the Washington state government spent $1 million per day on construction that failed to safeguard either the salmon or the tribal treaty rights it was meant to protect; and Katey Rusch and Casey Smith, contributors, San Francisco Chronicle, in collaboration with the University of California, Berkeley’s Investigative Reporting Program for a multiyear investigation into a secret system of legal settlements that concealed California police misconduct for decades and kept offending officers in positions of power.
NATIONAL REPORTING
For a distinguished example of reporting on national affairs, using any available journalistic tool, Fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
Awarded to the Staff of The Wall Street Journal for chronicling political and personal shifts of the richest person in the world, Elon Musk, including his turn to conservative politics, his use of legal and illegal drugs and his private conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Also nominated as finalists in this category were: Jennifer Gollan and Susie Neilson of the San Francisco Chronicle for an immersive and revelatory series that exposed the soaring death toll tied to police pursuits which detailed the near-total immunity that shields officers who initiate deadly chases; and Staff of The Washington Post for a sweeping examination of the human and environmental toll of Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina, including stories about the arrival of conspiracy theorists in one town and the efforts of residents of another to rebuild three months later.
INTERNATIONAL REPORTING
For a distinguished example of reporting on international affairs, using any available journalistic tool, Fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
Awarded to Declan Walsh and the Staff of The New York Times for their revelatory investigation of the conflict in Sudan, including reporting on foreign influence and the lucrative gold trade fueling it, and chilling forensic accounts of the Sudanese forces responsible for atrocities and famine.
Also nominated as finalists in this category were: Staff of The Wall Street Journal for courageous, cool-headed reporting by imprisoned journalist Evan Gershkovich and his colleagues that revealed a previously unknown Russian intelligence agency, and for gripping reporting on the workings of Russia’s secret services; and Staff of The Washington Post for haunting accountability journalism that documented Israeli atrocities in the Gaza strip and investigated the killings of Palestinian journalists, paramedics and a 6-year-old girl whose recorded pleas for help touched a nerve around the world.
FEATURE WRITING
For distinguished feature writing giving prime consideration to quality of writing, originality and concision, using any available journalistic tool, Fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
Awarded to Mark Warren, contributor, Esquire for a sensitive portrait of a Baptist pastor and small town mayor who died by suicide after his secret digital life was exposed by a right-wing news site.
Also nominated as finalists in this category were: Joe Sexton, contributor, The Marshall Project for his exclusive inside account of a legal team’s efforts to spare the Parkland high school shooter from the death penalty, a saga of moral complexity, constitutional law and shattering trauma for those involved; and Anand Gopal, contributing writer, The New Yorker for a deeply reported narrative of a woman’s life before and after she is imprisoned at an isolated detention camp in eastern Syria, illustrating how love and family intersect with larger geopolitical concerns.
COMMENTARY
For distinguished commentary, using any available journalistic tool, Fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
Awarded to Mosab Abu Toha, contributor, The New Yorker for essays on the physical and emotional carnage in Gaza that combine deep reporting with the intimacy of memoir to convey the Palestinian experience of more than a year and a half of war with Israel.
Also nominated as finalists in this category were: Gustavo Arellano of the Los Angeles Times for vivid columns reported from across the Southwest that shattered stereotypes and probed complex shifts in politics in an election year when Latinos were pivotal voters; and Jerry Brewer of The Washington Post for his perceptive and informed use of sports to examine critical social divisions in America through difficult conversations about race, gender and media bias.
CRITICISM
For distinguished criticism, using any available journalistic tool, Fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
Awarded to Alexandra Lange, contributing writer, Bloomberg CityLab for graceful and genre-expanding writing about public spaces for families, deftly using interviews, observations and analysis to consider the architectural components that allow children and communities to thrive.
Also nominated as finalists in this category were: Sara Holdren of New York Magazine for insightful theater criticism that combines a reporter's eye and a historian's memory to inform readers about current stage productions; and Vinson Cunningham of The New Yorker for illuminating and personal reviews of work that appears on television, streaming services or social media, trenchant criticism that explores contemporary issues and society.
EDITORIAL WRITING
For distinguished editorial writing, the test of excellence being clearness of style, moral purpose, sound reasoning, and power to influence public opinion in what the writer conceives to be the right direction, using any available journalistic tool, Fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
Awarded to Raj Mankad, Sharon Steinmann, Lisa Falkenberg and Leah Binkovitz of the Houston Chronicle for a powerful series on dangerous train crossings that kept a rigorous focus on the eople and communities at risk as the newspaper demanded urgent action.
Also nominated as finalists in this category were: David Scharfenberg, Alan Wirzbicki and Marcela García of The Boston Globe for their politically courageous and deeply reported editorials on how Boston can humanely and effectively close underutilized schools in ways that improve student learning; and Opinion Staff of The New York Times, notably W. J. Hennigan and Kathleen Kingsbury, for a powerful, graphic series on the potential horrors of nuclear war, raising critical questions for policymakers, and offering recommendations that might strengthen deterrence.
ILLUSTRATED REPORTING AND COMMENTARY
For a distinguished portfolio of editorial cartoons or other illustrated work (still, animated, or both) characterized by political insight, editorial effectiveness, or public service value, Fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
Awarded to Ann Telnaes of The Washington Post for delivering piercing commentary on powerful people and institutions with deftness, creativity — and a fearlessness that led to her departure from the news organization after 17 years.
Also nominated as finalists in this category were: Ernesto Barbieri and Jess Ruliffson, contributors, The Boston Globe for “True Stories from an ICU,” a beautiful, funny and frequently haunting depiction of the fragility of human life, with each frame perfectly paced over a seamless scroll; and Iran Martinez, Steve Breen, Jamie Self and Giovanni Moujaes of inewsource.org, San Diego, for “Fentanyl: A Decade of Death,” which deftly weaves hard data and human stories with effective metaphors to create a powerful visual narrative for a national audience and the local San Diego readership.
BREAKING NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY
For a distinguished example of breaking news photography in black and white or color, which may consist of a photograph or photographs, Fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
Awarded to Doug Mills of The New York Times for a sequence of photos of the attempted assassination of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, including one image that captures a bullet whizzing through the air as he speaks.
Also nominated as finalists in this category were: Photography Staff of Agence France-Presse for a variety of powerful images, shot entirely by a team of Palestinian journalists, that encapsulate the enduring humanity of the people of Gaza amid widespread destruction and loss; and Nanna Heitmann, contributor, Tyler Hicks, David Guttenfelder and Nicole Tung, contributor, of The New York Times for their persistence in photographing the war in Ukraine capturing the horror for both sides of the intractable conflict that has killed or wounded more than a million Ukrainians and Russians.
FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY
For a distinguished example of feature photography in black and white or color, which may consist of a photograph or photographs, Fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
Awarded to Moises Saman, contributor, The New Yorker for his haunting black and white images of Sednaya prison in Syria that capture the traumatic legacy of Assad’s torture chambers, forcing viewers to confront the raw horrors faced by prisoners and contemplate the scars on society. (Moved by the jury from Breaking News Photography.)
Also nominated as finalists in this category were: Photography Staff of Associated Press for their brave and gripping imagery from Gaza that steps back from the front lines to chronicle daily life as it continues in a war zone; and Lynsey Addario, contributor, The New York Times for her sensitive and wrenching photo essay of a young Ukrainian girl with a rare eye cancer whose treatment was thwarted by the war.
AUDIO REPORTING
For a distinguished example of audio journalism that serves the public interest, characterized by revelatory reporting and illuminating storytelling, Fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
Awarded to the Staff of The New Yorker for their “In the Dark” podcast, a combination of compelling storytelling and relentless reporting in the face of obstacles from the U.S. military, a four-year investigation into one of the most high-profile crimes of the Iraq War–the murder of 25 unarmed Iraqi civilians in Haditha.
Also nominated as finalists in this category were: Staffs of WNYC and Gothamist for their revelatory investigation into decades of sexual assault of female inmates on Rikers Island, focused largely on one male corrections officer; and Dan Taberski, Henry Molofsky, Morgan Jones and Marshall Lewy of Wondery and Audacy's Pineapple Street Studios for “Hysterical,” a fascinating series that traced the outbreak of a mysterious and apparently contagious nerve disorder in upstate New York that largely affected young women, and the frustrating efforts to identify it.
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