Several US media have been awarded the renowned Pulitzer Prize – including the “New York Times” for their research into the murders of civilians in the city of Bucha and the AP news agency for photos from Mariupol.
Not surprisingly, coverage of the war in Ukraine dominated the announcement of this year’s Pulitzer Prize winners. Last year, the jury gave the Ukrainian journalists a special prize for their courage, perseverance and commitment.
This year, the work of US media on site was honored – for example in the most renowned category “Public Service” – “Service to the Public”. “The award goes to the Associated Press (AP) for reporting from the besieged city of Mariupol, the scene of the massacre of civilians following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” said Pulitzer Secretary Marjorie Miller.
Journalists from the US news agency were the only foreign media representatives to report from the heavily contested port city for almost three weeks – until it was stormed by Russian troops.
“Awesome Stories”
AP also received the Breaking News Photography award for its news images from the early weeks of the war. “Once again this year, the stories told are very impressive. One word describes this effort: courageous,” said Neil Brown, one of the Pulitzer Prize committee chairs.
“Journalists take us places most of us can’t reach and open our eyes to events most of us can’t see.” As examples, Brown gave “from the hidden corners of a school to the bombed-out homes of frightened families to the most remote corners of nature”.
Research into murders of civilians in the city of Bucha
This also applies to the “bold reporting” of the “New York Times” from Ukraine, but above all to the eight-month-long investigation into the murder of civilians in the city of Bucha, for which the newspaper received the “International Reporting” award.
“Journalists pay a significant price for holding those in power to account. They are often harassed, threatened, attacked and taken hostage. That’s why we want to highlight the scandalous and unlawful imprisonment of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia.”
The 32-year-old is in custody in Moscow and the Russian authorities have accused him of espionage. The Pulitzer Prize Committee joined many other organizations in calling for the reporter’s release.
“Washington Post”: reporting awarded on abortions
The “Los Angeles Times” won the “Breaking News” category for research into racism among local politicians in the city. In the National Reporting section, the jury recognized Washington Post’s Caroline Kitchener, “For her unabashed reporting of the complex implications of the Roe vs. Wade verdict. In particular, the story of a Texas teenage girl who gave birth to twins because… an abortion was no longer possible after the new restrictions,” the statement said.
The prize, awarded since 1917 and donated by the Hungarian-American publisher Joseph Pulitzer, is considered the most coveted award for journalists. 15 of the 23 categories are reserved for journalistic work.
The award is also given for theatre, music and literature. There were two awards in the “Novel” category this year: for Barbara Kingsolver for “Demon Copperhead” and Hernan Diaz for “Trust”. The book was published in Germany under the title “Treue”.