April 11 (UPI) — Columbia University on Monday announced its Pulitzer Prize winners for 2016, the top annual awards given for excellence in journalism.
Named for newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, the awards are given in 21 categories covering the large scope of news reporting.
Winner: The New York Daily News and ProPublica
Finalists: Chicago Tribune, Houston Chronicle
“For uncovering, primarily through the work of reporter Sarah Ryley, widespread abuse of eviction rules by the police to oust hundreds of people, most of them poor minorities.”
Winner: East Bay Times (Oakland, Calif.)
Finalists: Dallas Morning News, Orlando Sentinel
“For relentless coverage of the ‘Ghost Ship’ fire, which killed 36 people at a warehouse party, and for reporting after the tragedy that exposed the city’s failure to take actions that might have prevented it.”
Winner: Eric Eyre, Charleston Gazette-Mail
Finalists: Michael Berens/Patricia Callahan, Chicago Tribune; Steve Reilly, USA Today Network
“For courageous reporting, performed in the face of powerful opposition, to expose the flood of opioids flowing into depressed West Virginia counties with the highest overdose death rates in the country.”
Winner: International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, McClatchy and Miami Herald
Finalists: Joan Garrett McClane/Joy Lukachick Smith, Chattanooga Times Free Press; Julia Angwin/Jeff Larson/Surya Mattu/Lauren Kirchner/Terry Parris Jr., ProPublica; Staff, National Geographic.
“For the Panama Papers, a series of stories using a collaboration of more than 300 reporters on six continents to expose the hidden infrastructure and global scale of offshore tax havens. (Moved by the Board from the International Reporting category, where it was entered.).”
Winner: David A. Fahrenthold, The Washington Post
Finalists: Renee Dudley/Steve Stecklow/Alexandra Harney, Reuters; Staff, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“For persistent reporting that created a model for transparent journalism in political campaign coverage while casting doubt on Donald Trump‘s assertions of generosity toward charities.”
Winner: Staff, The New York Times
Finalists: Chris Hamby, BuzzFeed; International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, McClatchy and the Miami Herald; Staff, The Wall Street Journal
“For agenda-setting reporting on Vladimir Putin’s efforts to project Russia’s power abroad, revealing techniques that included assassination, online harassment and the planting of incriminating evidence on opponents.”
Winner: Daniel Berehulak, freelance
Finalists: Jonathan Bachman, freelance; Staff, the Associated Press
“For powerful storytelling through images published in The New York Times showing the callous disregard for human life in the Philippines brought about by a government assault on drug dealers and users. (Moved into this category from Feature Photography by the nominating jury.)”
Winner: E. Jason Wambsgans, Chicago Tribune
Finalists: Jake May, The Flint Journal; Katie Falkenberg, the Los Angeles Times
“For a superb portrayal of a 10-year-old boy and his mother striving to put the boy’s life back together after he survived a shooting in Chicago.”
The rest of the Pulitzer Prize winners can be seen here.
