The 2011 Pulitzer Prizes were announced on Monday, and many of the journalism awards went to venerable, well-decorated publications.
The New York Times and Los Angeles Times each won two awards. The LA Times won the coveted Public Service prize for exposing the corruption of city officials in Bell, California, and the feature photography prize for photos of gang violence victims. The New York Times, meanwhile, won the prizes for international reporting, for a series about Russia, and commentary, for the work of business writer David Leonhardt.
Yet among a collection of traditional, paper-and-ink publications, one winner stood out. For the second year in a row, the online investigative news organization ProPublica won an award, this time for national reporting for its coverage of Wall Street.
Founded in 2007, ProPublica describes itself on its website as “an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.” The group publishes its articles online, and its victory is sure to be heralded as a breakthrough for digital media. While the ProPublica story that won last year -- an investigation into the use of euthanasia at a New Orleans hospital in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina – was published both on the ProPublica website and in The New York Times Magazine, this year marks the first time a Pulitzer Prize has been awarded to work that hasn’t appeared in print.
The series, by Jesse Eisinger and Jake Bernstein, revealed how some Wall Street bankers exacerbated the financial crisis in order to thicken their own wallets.
In a statement published on the company’s website, Paul E. Steiger, the CEO, editor-in-chief, and president of ProPublica, wrote that, despite playful supplements to the stories that included a comic strip and two songs, the series’ “central point is quite serious, and critically important: that the mores of Wall Street, at least in the period 2006-2008, were not consistent with the public interest or the national interest, and that greater oversight (and perhaps enforcement actions) may be in order.”
Along with ProPublica’s victory, there was another novel development this year. For the first time in the history of the Pulitzers, no award was given in the breaking local news category. The nominees in this category were the staff of the Chicago Tribune, the staff of The Tennessean, and a joint staff entry of The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald. Yet Sig Gissler, administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes, said that none of the finalists received the necessary majority of votes.
The New York Times team that won the International prize, Clifford J. Levy and Ellen Barry, was commended by the Pulitzer board for putting "a human face on the faltering justice system in Russia, remarkably influencing the discussion inside the country.” The Los Angeles Times' exposure of corruption in Bell, meanwhile, was praised for leading to arrests and reforms.
Other winners included the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Chicago Sun-Times, and the Newark Star-Ledger. Paige St. John of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune won the investigative reporting prize for her examination of Florida’s insurance industry. She was chosen over Sam Roe and Jared S. Hopkins of the Chicago Tribune and three-time winner Walt Bogdanich of The New York Times. This was the first time the Florida paper has won the award.
In contrast, it was the third Pulitzer in four years for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. This year, the paper won the explanatory reporting prize for a three-part series that combined words, videos, photos, and graphics to tell the story of a five-year-old boy with a mysterious illness and the doctors who used groundbreaking genetic technology in an attempt to save him.
The award for local reporting went to the Chicago Sun-Times for its coverage of violence in the city’s neighborhoods, and the feature-writing prize was awarded to Amy Ellis Nutt of the Newark Star-Ledger for her story about the drowning of six fisherman in the Atlantic.
In the non-journalism categories, winners included Jennifer Egan, whose novel "A Visit from the Goon Squad" won the fiction prize, and Bruce Norris, whose play "Clybourne Park" won the drama prize. Eric Foner won the history prize for "The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery," while Ron Chernow won the biography prize for "Washington: A Life."
Founded in 1917, The Pulitzer Prizes are awarded each year by Columbia University. They are considered to be journalism’s most prestigious awards. The winner in the public service category receives a gold medal, and the other winners are awarded $10,000 each.
See the full list, with citations and nominees, below, and click here to read the winning articles.
JournalismPublic service: The Los Angeles Times for its exposure of corruption in the small California city of Bell, where officials tapped the treasury to pay themselves exorbitant salaries, resulting in arrests and reforms. Finalists: Bloomberg News for the work of Daniel Golden, John Hechinger and John Lauerman revealing how some for-profit colleges exploited low-income students, leading to a federal crackdown on a multi-billion-dollar industry; and The New York Times for the work of Alan Schwarz in illuminating the peril of concussions in football and other sports, spurring a national discussion and a re-examination of helmets and of medical and coaching practices.
Breaking news reporting: No award. Finalists: Chicago Tribune staff for coverage of the deaths of two Chicago firefighters killed while searching for squatters in an abandoned burning building; The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, a joint staff entry, for coverage of the Haitian earthquake, often working under extreme conditions; and the Staff of The Tennessean, Nashville, for coverage of the most devastating flood in the area's history.
Investigative reporting: Paige St. John of the Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune, for her examination of weaknesses in the murky property-insurance system vital to Florida homeowners, providing handy data to assess insurer reliability and stirring regulatory action. Finalists: Walt Bogdanich of The New York Times for his spotlighting of medical radiation errors that injure thousands of Americans, sparking national discussion and remedial steps; and Sam Roe and Jared S. Hopkins of the Chicago Tribune for their investigation, in print and online, of 13 deaths at a home for severely disabled children and young adults, resulting in closure of the facility.
Explanatory reporting: Mark Johnson, Kathleen Gallagher, Gary Porter, Lou Saldivar and Alison Sherwood of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for their lucid examination of an epic effort to use genetic technology to save a 4-year-old boy imperiled by a mysterious disease, told with words, graphics, videos and other images. Finalists: The Wall Street Journal Staff for its penetration of the shadowy world of fraud and abuse in Medicare, probing previously concealed government databases to identify millions of dollars in waste and corrupt practices; and The Washington Post staff for its exploration of how the military is using trauma surgery, brain science and other techniques both old and new to reduce fatalities among the wounded in warfare, telling the story with words, images and other tools.
Local reporting: Frank Main, Mark Konkol and John J. Kim of the Chicago Sun-Times for their immersive documentation of violence in Chicago neighborhoods, probing the lives of victims, criminals and detectives as a widespread code of silence impedes solutions. Finalists: Marshall Allen and Alex Richards of the Las Vegas Sun for their compelling reports on patients who suffered preventable injuries and other harm during hospital care, taking advantage of print and digital tools to drive home their findings; and Stanley Nelson of the Concordia (La.) Sentinel, a weekly, for his courageous and determined efforts to unravel a long forgotten Ku Klux Klan murder during the Civil Rights era.
National reporting: Jesse Eisinger and Jake Bernstein of ProPublica for their exposure of questionable practices on Wall Street that contributed to the nation's economic meltdown, using digital tools to help explain the complex subject to lay readers. Finalists: David Evans of Bloomberg News for his revelations of how life insurance companies retained death benefits owed to families of military veterans and other Americans, leading to government investigations and remedial changes; and The Wall Street Journal Staff for its examination of the disastrous explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, using detailed reports to hold government and major corporations accountable.
International reporting: Clifford J. Levy and Ellen Barry of The New York Times for dogged reporting that put a human face on the faltering justice system in Russia, remarkably influencing the discussion inside the country. Finalists: Deborah Sontag of The New York Times for her coverage of the earthquake in Haiti, steadfastly telling poignant, wide-ranging stories with a lyrical touch and an impressive eye for detail; and The Wall Street Journal staff for its examination of the causes of Europe's debt crisis, taking readers behind closed doors to meet pivotal characters while illuminating the wider economic, political and social reverberations.
Feature writing: Amy Ellis Nutt of The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J., for her deeply probing story of the mysterious sinking of a commercial fishing boat in the Atlantic Ocean that drowned six men. Finalists: Tony Bartelme of The Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C., for his engaging account of a South Carolina neurosurgeon's quest to teach brain surgery in Tanzania, possibly providing a new model for health care in developing countries; and Michael M. Phillips, of The Wall Street Journal, for his portfolio of deftly written stories that provide war-weary readers with fresh perspective on the conflict in Afghanistan.
Commentary: David Leonhardt of The New York Times for his graceful penetration of America's complicated economic questions, from the federal budget deficit to health care reform. Finalists: Phillip Morris of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, for his blend of local storytelling and unpredictable opinions, enlarging the discussion of controversial issues that stir a big city; and Mary Schmich of the Chicago Tribune for her versatile columns exploring life and the concerns of a metropolis with whimsy and poignancy.
Criticism: Sebastian Smee of The Boston Globe for his vivid and exuberant writing about art, often bringing great works to life with love and appreciation. Finalists: Jonathan Gold of the LA Weekly for his delightful, authoritative restaurant reviews, escorting readers through a city's diverse food culture; and Nicolai Ouroussoff of The New York Times for his well-honed architectural criticism, highlighted by ambitious essays on the burst of architectural projects in oil-rich Middle East countries.
Editorial writing: Joseph Rago of The Wall Street Journal for his well-crafted, against-the-grain editorials challenging the health care reform advocated by President Barack Obama. Finalists: Jackson Diehl of The Washington Post for his insightful editorials on foreign affairs, marked by prescient pieces critical of America's policy toward Egypt well before a revolution erupted there; and John McCormick of the Chicago Tribune for his relentless campaign to reform an unsustainable public pension system that threatens the economic future of Illinois.
Editorial cartooning: Mike Keefe of The Denver Post for his widely ranging cartoons that employ a loose, expressive style to send strong, witty messages. Finalists: Matt Davies for cartoons in The Journal News, Westchester County, N.Y., work notably original in concept and execution, offering sharp opinion without shrillness; and Joel Pett of the Lexington Herald-Leader, for provocative cartoons that often tackle controversial Kentucky issues, marked by a simple style and a passion for humanity.
Breaking news photography: Carol Guzy, Nikki Kahn and Ricky Carioti of The Washington Post for their up-close portrait of grief and desperation after a catastrophic earthquake struck Haiti. Finalists: Daniel Berehulak and Paula Bronstein of Getty Images for their compelling portrayal of the human will to survive as historic floods engulfed regions of Pakistan; and Carolyn Cole of the Los Angeles Times for her often haunting images of a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, capturing the harsh reality of widespread devastation.
Feature photography: Barbara Davidson of the Los Angeles Times for her intimate story of innocent victims trapped in the city's crossfire of deadly gang violence. Finalists: Todd Heisler of The New York Times for his sensitive portrayal of a large Colombian clan carrying a genetic mutation that causes Alzheimer's disease in early middle age; and Greg Kahn of The Naples (Fla.) Daily News for his pictures that show the mixed impact of the recession in Florida – loss of jobs and homes for some but profit for others.
Arts
Fiction: "A Visit from the Goon Squad," by Jennifer Egan (Alfred A. Knopf), an inventive investigation of growing up and growing old in the digital age, displaying a big-hearted curiosity about cultural change at warp speed. Finalists: "The Privileges," by Jonathan Dee (Random House), a contemporary, wide ranging tale about an elite Manhattan family, moral bankruptcy and the long reach of wealth; and "The Surrendered," by Chang-Rae Lee (Riverhead Books), a haunting and often heartbreaking epic whose characters explore the deep reverberations of love, devotion and war.
Drama: "Clybourne Park," by Bruce Norris, a powerful work whose memorable characters speak in witty and perceptive ways to America's sometimes toxic struggle with race and class consciousness. Finalists: "Detroit," by Lisa D'Amour, a contemporary tragicomic play that depicts a slice of desperate life in a declining inner-ring suburb where hope is in foreclosure; and "A Free Man of Color," by John Guare, an audacious play spread across a large historical canvas, dealing with serious subjects while retaining a playful intellectual buoyancy.
History: "The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery," by Eric Foner (W.W. Norton & Co.), a well-orchestrated examination of Lincoln's changing views of slavery, bringing unforeseeable twists and a fresh sense of improbability to a familiar story. Finalists: "Confederate Reckoning: Power and Politics in the Civil War South," by Stephanie McCurry (Harvard University Press), an insightful work analyzing the experience of disenfranchised white women and black slaves who were left when Confederate soldiers headed for the battlefield; and "Eden on the Charles: The Making of Boston," by Michael Rawson (Harvard University Press), an impressive selection of case studies that reveal how Boston helped shape the remarkable growth of American cities in the 19th century.
Biography: "Washington: A Life," by Ron Chernow (The Penguin Press), a sweeping, authoritative portrait of an iconic leader learning to master his private feelings in order to fulfill his public duties. Finalists: "The Publisher: Henry Luce and His American Century," by Alan Brinkley (Alfred A. Knopf), a fresh, fair-minded assessment of a complicated man who transformed the news business and showed busy Americans new ways to see the world; and "Mrs. Adams in Winter: A Journey in the Last Days of Napoleon," by Michael O'Brien (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), a graceful account of a remarkable journey by Louisa Catherine Adams, the wife of a future president, who traveled with a young son across a Europe still reeling from warfare.
Poetry: "The Best of It: New and Selected Poems," by Kay Ryan (Grove Press), a body of work spanning 45 years, witty, rebellious and yet tender, a treasure trove of an iconoclastic and joyful mind. Finalists: "The Common Man," by Maurice Manning (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), a rich, often poignant collection of poems rooted in a rural Kentucky experiencing change in its culture and landscape; and "Break the Glass," by Jean Valentine (Copper Canyon Press), a collection of imaginative poems in which small details can accrue great power and a reader is never sure where any poem might lead.
General nonfiction: "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer," by Siddhartha Mukherjee (Scribner), an elegant inquiry, at once clinical and personal, into the long history of an insidious disease that, despite treatment breakthroughs, still bedevils medical science. Finalists: "The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brain," by Nicholas Carr (W.W. Norton & Co.), a thought-provoking exploration of the Internet's physical and cultural consequences, rendering highly technical material intelligible to the general reader; and "Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History," by S.C. Gwynne (Scribner), a memorable examination of the longest and most brutal of all the wars between European settlers and a single Indian tribe.
Music: Zhou Long for "Madame White Snake," premiered Feb. 26, 2010, by the Boston Opera at the Cutler Majestic Theatre, a deeply expressive opera that draws on a Chinese folk tale to blend the musical traditions of the East and the West. Libretto by Cerise Lim Jacobs (Oxford University Press). Finalists: Fred Lerdahl for "Arches," premiered Nov. 19, 2010, at Miller Theatre, Columbia University, a consistently original concerto that sustains an extraordinary level of sensuous invention as it evolves from one moment to the next; and Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon for "Comala," recording released in June 2010 by Bridge Records, an ambitious cantata that translates into music an influential work of Latin American literature, giving voice to two cultures that intersect within the term "America."