The Pulitzer Prize Board recognised on Monday Ukrainian journalists for their “courage, endurance and commitment to truthful” coverage of Russia’s invasion of their country, which began on February 24. The prestigious awards also honoured US media giant The Washington Post, for its coverage of the January 6, 2021 riots- when a mob of supporters of former US president Donald Trump attacked the Capitol Building in Washington.
Awarding a “special citation” to the journalists of Ukraine, prize administrator Marjorie Miller said, “The Pulitzer Prize board is pleased to award a special citation to the journalists of Ukraine for their courage, endurance and commitment to truthful reporting during Vladimir Putin’s ruthless invasion of their country and his propaganda war in Russia.”
“Despite bombardment abductions, occupation and even deaths in their ranks, they have persisted in their effort to provide an accurate picture of a terrible reality, doing honor to Ukraine and to journalists around the world,” she added.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as many as seven journalists, including three from Ukraine, have been killed so far, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The Washington Post which won the Pulitzer Prize in public service journalism was recognised for its extensive reporting – published in a sophisticated interactive series that found numerous problems and failures in political systems and security before, during, and after the January 6 riots.
The “compellingly told and vividly presented account” gave the public “a thorough and unflinching understanding of one of the nation’s darkest days,” said Miller.
Most of the news prizes were scooped up by The New York Times – at three. The newspaper won the international reporting category for exposing the vast civilian toll of US-led airstrikes across the Middle East, including in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. It also took the award for national reporting for its investigation into deadly police traffic stops around the United States.
Indian Reuters photographer, who was killed while covering fighting in Afghanistan, was part of a team that took home the Pulitzer for feature photography. Danish Siddiqui and his colleagues Adnan Abidi, Sanna Irshad Mattoo, and Amit Dave won for images depicting the toll of the Covid-19 pandemic in India. Their work, which was moved from the breaking photography category by the judges, “balanced intimacy and devastation, while offering viewers a heightened sense of place,” the committee wrote.
Here’s the full list of news Pulitzer winners:
Public Service – The Washington Post
Breaking News Reporting – Staff of the Miami Herald
Investigative Reporting – Corey G. Johnson, Rebecca Woolington and Eli Murray of the Tampa Bay Times
Explanatory Reporting – Staff of Quanta Magazine, New York, N.Y., notably Natalie Wolchover
Local Reporting – Madison Hopkins of the Better Government Association and Cecilia Reyes of the Chicago Tribune
National Reporting – Staff of The New York Times
International Reporting – Staff of The New York Times
Feature Writing – Jennifer Senior of The Atlantic
Commentary – Melinda Henneberger of The Kansas City Star
Criticism – Salamishah Tillet, contributing critic at large, The New York Times
Editorial Writing – Lisa Falkenberg, Michael Lindenberger, Joe Holley and Luis Carrasco of the Houston Chronicle
Illustrated Reporting and Commentary – Fahmida Azim, Anthony Del Col, Josh Adams and Walt Hickey of Insider, New York, N.Y.
Breaking News Photography – Marcus Yam of the Los Angeles Times; Win McNamee, Drew Angerer, Spencer Platt, Samuel Corum and Jon Cherry of Getty Images
Feature Photography – Adnan Abidi, Sanna Irshad Mattoo, Amit Dave and the late Danish Siddiqui of Reuters
Audio Reporting – Staffs of Futuro Media, New York, N.Y. and PRX, Boston, Mass.
Special Awards and Citations – The Journalists of Ukraine
(With inputs from AFP, Reuters, AP)