The past few months have reminded us of just how important quality journalism is to our lives.
Unprecedented circumstances like the COVID-19 pandemic and other momentous events have unfolded rapidly around the globe. People everywhere have turned to the news for live updates and reliable guidance on navigating these uncharted waters. Journalists have had to answer an immense demand for timely, up-to-date and accurate content in an extremely fast-changing landscape. All the while, they’ve had to cope with the uncertainties facing their own industry, accelerated and exacerbated by the pandemic.
More than ever, it’s vital to recognize the extraordinary work journalists are doing every day, under circumstances that can range from highly challenging to even life-threatening. Their investigations, reporting and storytelling remain crucial to society — and to our lives on an individual level.
The Pulitzer Prize is arguably the most renowned honor for excellent journalism. Since 1917, the Pulitzer Prize has recognized best-in-class journalism across 15 categories (including this year’s newly added category, Audio Reporting) from U.S. newspapers, magazines and news sites. The 2020 Prize winners — including our client The Seattle Times — were announced last month, and we think there’s no better time to revisit and applaud their work:
Category: Public Service
Winner: Anchorage Daily News with contributions from ProPublica
“For a riveting series that revealed a third of Alaska’s villages had no police protection, took authorities to task for decades of neglect, and spurred an influx of money and legislative changes.”
Category: Breaking News Reporting
Winner: Staff of The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.
“For its rapid coverage of hundreds of last-minute pardons by Kentucky’s governor, showing how the process was marked by opacity, racial disparities and violations of legal norms.”
Category: Investigative Reporting
Winner: Brian M. Rosenthal of The New York Times
“For an exposé of New York City’s taxi industry that showed how lenders profited from predatory loans that shattered the lives of vulnerable drivers, reporting that ultimately led to state and federal investigations and sweeping reforms.”
Category: Explanatory Reporting
Winner: Staff of The Washington Post
“For a groundbreaking series that showed with scientific clarity the dire effects of extreme temperatures on the planet.”
Category: Local Reporting
Winner: Staff of The Baltimore Sun
“For illuminating, impactful reporting on a lucrative, undisclosed financial relationship between the city’s mayor and the public hospital system she helped to oversee.”
Category: National Reporting
Winner: Dominic Gates, Steve Miletich, Mike Baker and Lewis Kamb of The Seattle Times
“For groundbreaking stories that exposed design flaws in the Boeing 737 MAX that led to two deadly crashes and revealed failures in government oversight.”
Winner: T. Christian Miller, Megan Rose and Robert Faturechi of ProPublica
“For their investigation into America’s 7th Fleet after a series of deadly naval accidents in the Pacific.”
Category: International Reporting
Winner: Staff of The New York Times
“For a set of enthralling stories, reported at great risk, exposing the predations of Vladimir Putin’s regime.”
Category: Feature Writing
Winner: Ben Taub of The New Yorker
“For a devastating account of a man who was kidnapped, tortured and deprived of his liberty for more than a decade at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, blending on-the-ground reporting and lyrical prose to offer a nuanced perspective on America’s wider war on terror.”
Category: Commentary
Winner: Nikole Hannah-Jones of The New York Times
“For a sweeping, provocative and personal essay for the ground-breaking 1619 Project, which seeks to place the enslavement of Africans at the center of America’s story, prompting public conversation about the nation’s founding and evolution.”
Category: Criticism
Winner: Christopher Knight of the Los Angeles Times
“For work demonstrating extraordinary community service by a critic, applying his expertise and enterprise to critique a proposed overhaul of the L.A. County Museum of Art and its effect on the institution’s mission.”
Category: Editorial Writing
Winner: Jeffery Gerritt of the Palestine (Tx.) Herald-Press
“For editorials that exposed how pre-trial inmates died horrific deaths in a small Texas county jail — reflecting a rising trend across the state — and courageously took on the local sheriff and judicial establishment, which tried to cover up these needless tragedies.”
Category: Editorial Cartooning
Winner: Barry Blitt, contributor, The New Yorker
“For work that skewers the personalities and policies emanating from the Trump White House with deceptively sweet watercolor style and seemingly gentle caricatures.”
Category: Breaking News Photography
Winner: Photography Staff of Reuters
“For wide-ranging and illuminating photographs of Hong Kong as citizens protested infringement of their civil liberties and defended the region’s autonomy by the Chinese government.”
Category: Feature Photography
Winner: Channi Anand, Mukhtar Khan and Dar Yasin of Associated Press
“For striking images captured during a communications blackout in Kashmir depicting life in the contested territory as India stripped it of its semi-autonomy.”
Category: Audio Reporting
“For ‘The Out Crowd,’ revelatory, intimate journalism that illuminates the personal impact of the Trump Administration’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy.”
At Echobox, we believe that leaders in journalism deserve the best tools and technology to help them with their mission of delivering the very best in news.
Many of these leaders have turned to Echobox, including both past and present Pulitzer Prize winners The Seattle Times, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Guardian US, the Albuquerque Journal and The Christian Science Monitor, among others.
They’ve chosen Echobox for good reason: on average, our customers in North America see 41% growth in traffic from social media after adopting Echobox.
Powered by artificial intelligence and designed exclusively for publishers, Echobox helps publications reach new audiences and increase traffic while saving time and money on social media management. More than 700 leading publishers around the world, including Newsweek, The Telegraph, Le Monde and El País, use Echobox to share millions of social posts and reach billions of readers each year.
By simplifying your social media publishing with Echobox, you can focus on telling powerful stories and delivering the quality journalism that’s critical to our society.
Learn more about Echobox
Image source: “BBC Broadcasting House Tour” by lizsmith is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
