14 Local Newsrooms Among Pulitzer Finalists, 'NYT' Becomes Most Winning News Organization

• by Melynda Fuller , April 16, 2019

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.

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.”