Yesterday, the
103rd Pulitzer Prizes
were announced, casting the spotlight on both local and national news outlets.
Among the 42 finalists, 14 were local news organizations. Those included The Post and Courier
in Charleston, South Carolina, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Advocate in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the Chico Enterprise-Record.
The Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette won an award for breaking news coverage for its coverage of the massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue, while the South Florida Sun-Sentinel won for public service for its
piece exposing the failures of school and law enforcement officials prior and during the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
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The New York Times became
the most winning news outlet, with its 127th Pulitzer received this year. In all, the newspaper was awarded two Pulitzers for coverage, ranging from an 18-month-long investigation into Donald
Trump’s finances to a piece that charted racial fault lines in the U.S.
The Washington Post also took home two awards for criticism and feature photography.
The
Poynter Institute broke down the awards by numbers, showing that this year 70.8% of the finalists were from newspapers. Men nominated outnumbered women by more than two to one.
Poynter
president Neil Brown, who is also a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board, said: “Journalists helped change bad laws, made local leaders more accountable to keep our kids safe, and put eyes on
horrific abuse and injustice in places far and near.
"It’s all the more inspiring because it comes as journalists are under direct threat and news companies must work harder than ever to
find the financial means needed to keep this vital work coming.”