The New York Times,The Washington PostandReuterswere multiple winners ofPulitzer Prizeson Monday, while the journalism committee awarded a special citation to the Miami Herald’sJulie K. Brownfor her reporting onJeffrey Epstein.
A number of the winners reflected the fallout from the first year ofDonald Trump‘s second term, with the Pulitzer committee recognizing stories and coverage of the administration’s conflicts of interest, the president’s campaigns of retribution, ICE raids and cutbacks to the federal workforce.
The Post was recognized in the public service category for “piercing the veil of secrecy around the Trump administration’s chaotic overhaul of federal agencies and chronicling in rich detail the human impacts of the cuts and the consequences for the country.”Related StoriesPoliticsBarack Obama + Luke Skywalker = Star Wars Day 2026: "Strong, The Dad Jokes Are!"NewsIATSE Files Unfair Labor Practice Charges Against Kennedy Center Over Worker Layoffs In Advance Of Planned Closure
The Post’s team covering the cuts included Hannah Natanson. Federal agents searched her home in January and seized her electronic devices, as part of an investigation of a federal contractor accused of possessing classified documents. Natanson was told she was not the target, but the Post has been in litigation against the government to return her items. The Pulitzer Prizes cover 2025, before the Post slashed at least 1/3 of its workforce, in February.Watch on Deadline
Marjorie Miller, the administrator of the prizes, pointed to the “robust” field of nominees despite the economic pressure on news outlets.
She also referenced the president’s attacks on the media, noting that the prizes stand for the First Amendment and an independent press. “Unfortunately, this bears repeating now as media access to the White House and the Pentagon is restricted, free speech is challenged in the streets and the president of the United States has filed lawsuits for billions of dollars for defamation and malice against multiple print and broadcast media,” she said. Trump’s litigation even includes the board of the Pulitzers, as he sued them because they refused to retract their honors to the Times and the Post for their coverage of the Russia investigation.
Brown was recognized for reporting on Epstein from 2017 and 2018. The judges said that her series, Perversion of Justice, “revealed how prosecutors shielded Epstein from federal sex trafficking charges when he was first accused of abusing young women.”
The judges said that Brown “went on to document and give voice to the scores of victims who had been groomed and abused by him and others in his circle. Her work, and the release of the government’s Epstein files, continue to reverberate around the world.”
The winners of the journalism awards, with some of the judge’s comments, are:
Public service:The Washington Post, for coverage of the overhaul of federal agencies.
Breaking news reporting:Staff of the Minnesota Star Tribune, for coverage of the mass shooting at Annunciation Church and School in Minneapolis, as students were attending a back-to-school Mass.
Investigative reporting:The New York Times, for stories on Trump administration conflicts of interest and “the moneymaking opportunities that come with power, enriching his family and allies.”
Explanatory reporting:Susie Neilson, Megan Fan Munce and Sara DiNatale of the San Francisco Chronicle, for a series on how insurance companies used algorithmic tools to undervalue properties destroyed by fires.
Beat reporting:Jeff Horwitz and Engen Tham, Reuters, for reporting on Meta’s “willingness to expose users, including children, to scams and AI manipulation.”
Local reporting:[tie] Dave Altimari and Ginny Monk of the Connecticut Mirror and Sophie Chou and Haru Coryne of ProPublica, for a series on how the state’s towing laws favored “unscrupulous companies.”
