FILE - A sign for the Pulitzer Prize is shown at Columbia University, Tuesday May 28, 2019, in New York. The Pulitzer Prizes will be awarded Monday, May 8, 2023 and honor outstanding journalism during a violent year that included Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, mass shootings that targeted an elementary school and supermarket and communities beset with climate change-fueled flood and flames. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
NEW YORK (AP) – The Associated Press won two Pulitzer Prizes for journalism Monday, in public service and breaking news photography, for coverage of the Ukraine War that included startling images of Russia’s siege of Mariupol.
The New York Times was also honored with an international reporting award for its coverage of Russian killings in the Ukranian town of Bucha. Additional Pulitzers were given for work surrounding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning the Roe v. Wade abortion standard, the government’s policy of child separation at the border, and welfare spending in Mississippi.
AL.com, of Birmingham, Alabama, won two Pulitzers, in local reporting and commentary. The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and the Washington Post also won two awards each.
For its public service award, the Pulitzers cited the work of AP’s videojournalist Mstyslav Chernov, photographer Evgeniy Maloletka, video producer Vasilisa Stepanenko and reporter Lori Hinnant. For nearly three weeks, AP had the only international journalists in Mariupol, capturing notable images of an injured, pregnant woman being rushed to medical help and Russia firing on civilian targets.
Mariupol’s deputy mayor said the world’s attention to the work pressured Russians to open an evacuation route, saving thousands of civilian lives.
“AP journalists have done courageous and important work in Ukraine throughout the war, shining a spotlight in particular on the human toll of the conflict,” said AP Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Julie Pace. “From dispelling Russian misinformation to contributing to the creation of a humanitarian corridor, their work has been an incredible public service and we’re so pleased that it has been honored by the Pulitzer board.”
Maloletka was also part of AP’s team that won the prize for breaking news photography in Ukraine that included Bernat Armangue, Emilio Morenatti, Felipe Dana, Nariman El-Mofty, Rodrigo Abd and Vadim Ghirda.
The Washington Post’s Caroline Kitchener won for “unflinching reporting” on the consequences of the abortion decision, including the story of a Texas teenager who gave birth to twins after new restrictions denied her an abortion. The Post’s Eli Saslow won for feature writing.
The Atlantic won the Pulitzer for explanatory journalism for Caitlin Dickerson’s exhaustive probe of the Trump administration policy of separating parents from children at the U.S. border.
The Wall Street Journal won for its investigation into federal officials holding stock that could have been affected by government action, including dozens who reported trading stock in companies shortly before their own agencies announced enforcement actions against them.
The Los Angeles Times won for breaking news for its stories revealing a secretly recorded conversation with city officials making racist comments. The newspaper’s Christina House won for feature photography, for her images of a 22-year-old pregnant woman living on the street.
Kyle Whitmire, of AL.com, won a commentary award for “measured and persuasive columns” about how Alabama’s Confederate heritage and a legacy or racism.
His Alabama colleagues John Archibald, Ashley Remkus, Ramsey Archibald and Challen Stephens won a local reporting award for a probe into a local police force. Anna Wolfe, of Mississippi Today, was honored for her reporting on a former Mississippi governor sending federal welfare money to family and friends, including NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre.
Andrew Long Chu, of New York magazine, won a Pulitzer for criticism.
Nancy Ancrum, Amy Driscoll, Luisa Yanez, Isadora Rangell and Lauren Constantino, of the Miami Herald, won for editorial writing.
Mona Chalabi, a contributor to The New York Times, won for illustrated reporting and commentary. The staff of Gimlet Media won for audio reporting.
The Pulitzers honor the best in journalism from 2022 in 15 categories, as well as eight arts categories focuses on books, music and theater.
The public service prize winner receives a gold medal. All other winners receive $15,000. The prizes were established in the will of newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer and first awarded in 1917.
