The Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting is awarded to an example of "local reporting that illuminates significant issues or concerns."2007 Pulitzer Prize Winners - LOCAL REPORTING, Citation /ref> This
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...
was first awarded in 1948. Like most Pulitzers the winner receives a $15,000 award.
History
The Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting was first awarded from 1948 until 1952. Beginning in 1953, two awards for Local Reporting were given out by the committee, for Local Reporting, Edition Time and for Local Reporting, No Edition Time.
In 1964 the Local Reporting Pulitzers were again renamed to "Local Investigative Specialized Reporting" and "Local General or Spot News Reporting." These prizes existed until 1984, when they were done away with.
In 1985, several new Pulitzer Prizes were introduced, the
Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism
The Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting has been presented since 1998, for a distinguished example of explanatory reporting that illuminates a significant and complex subject, demonstrating mastery of the subject, lucid writing and clear p ...
(later renamed "Explanatory Reporting"), the
Pulitzer Prize for General News Reporting
The Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting is a Pulitzer Prize awarded for a distinguished example of breaking news, local reporting on news of the moment. It has been awarded since 1953 under several names:
*From 1953 to 1963: Pulitzer Pri ...
(later renamed "Breaking News Reporting"), the
Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting
The Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting has been awarded since 1953, under one name or another, for a distinguished example of investigative reporting by an individual or team, presented as a single article or series in a U.S. news publica ...
, and the
Pulitzer Prize for Specialized Reporting
The Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting was presented from 1991 to 2006 for a distinguished example of beat reporting characterized by sustained and knowledgeable coverage of a particular subject or activity.
From 1985 to 1990 it was known as the ...
. None of these prizes were reserved specifically for local reporting.
In 2006, the prize committee announced that the
Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting
The Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting was presented from 1991 to 2006 for a distinguished example of beat reporting characterized by sustained and knowledgeable coverage of a particular subject or activity.
From 1985 to 1990 it was known as the ...
was going to be replaced by a recreated Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting. Debbie Cenziper of ''
The Miami Herald
The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.George E. Goodwin, ''
Atlanta Journal
''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...
'', "For his story of the Telfair County vote fraud," published in 1947.
* 1949: Malcolm Johnson, ''
New York Sun
''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...
'', "For his series of 24 articles entitled "Crime on the Waterfront" in New York City." (The film ''
On the Waterfront
''On the Waterfront'' is a 1954 American crime drama film, directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando and features Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Pat Henning, and Eva Marie Saint in her film debut. ...
'' was based on this series of articles.)
* 1950:
Meyer Berger
Meyer "Mike" Berger (September 1, 1898 – February 8, 1959) was an American journalist, considered one of the finest newspaper reporters. He was also known for "About New York", a long-running column in ''The New York Times'', and for his cente ...
, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', "For his 4,000 word story on the mass killings by
Howard Unruh
Howard Barton Unruh (January 21, 1921 – October 19, 2009) was an American mass murderer who shot and killed thirteen people during a twelve-minute walk through his neighborhood in Camden, New Jersey, on September 6, 1949 in an incident that b ...
in Camden, N.J."
* 1951:
Edward S. Montgomery
Edward Samuel Montgomery (December 30, 1910 – April 6, 1992) was an American journalist who won the 1951 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting for writing a series of articles on tax fraud.
Biography
Montgomery was born in Fort Collins, Colorado. H ...
, ''
San Francisco Examiner
The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863.
Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...
'', "For his stories of a "ransom racket" extorting money from Chinese in the United States for relations held in Red China."
From 2007 to present
* 2007:
Debbie Cenziper
Debbie Cenziper is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American investigative journalist and nonfiction author. she writes for ''ProPublica'' and is the director of the Medill Investigative Lab at Northwestern University. She spent more than a decade as a ...
, ''
Miami Herald
The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.David Umhoefer, ''
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently ...
'', "For his stories on the skirting of tax laws to pad pensions of county employees, prompting change and possible prosecution of key figures."
* 2009: (two winners) ''
Detroit Free Press
The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primar ...
'' Staff, and notably
Jim Schaefer
Jim Schaefer is an American journalist based in Detroit, Michigan, where he works as an investigative journalist for the ''Detroit Free Press''.
Life and career
Schaefer graduated from Ohio State University. He was an investigative producer for ...
and M.L. Elrick, "for their uncovering of a pattern of lies by Mayor
Kwame Kilpatrick
Kwame Malik Kilpatrick (born June 8, 1970) is an American former politician who served as the 72nd mayor of Detroit from 2002 to 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously represented the 9th district in the Michigan House of Represen ...
that included denial of a sexual relationship with his female chief of staff, prompting an investigation of perjury that eventually led to jail terms for the two officials." (Original Series: )
* 2009: (two winners)
Ryan Gabrielson
Ryan Gabrielson is an American investigative journalist. He has won a George Polk Award, and Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting.
Education
He graduated from the University of Arizona.
Career
Gabrielson began his career in journalism at '' The M ...
and
Paul Giblin Paul Giblin is an American investigative journalist based in Phoenix, Arizona.
He graduated from University of Arizona in 1988.
He worked for the '' East Valley Tribune'' in Mesa, Arizona.
He writes for the ''Arizona Guardian''.
He is a civilian ...
of the ''
East Valley Tribune
The ''East Valley Tribune'' is a newspaper concentrated on cities within the East Valley region of metropolitan Phoenix, including Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, and Queen Creek.
Formerly a daily newspaper, the ''Tribune'' resulted from t ...
'', "for their adroit use of limited resources to reveal, in print and online, how a popular sheriff's focus on immigration enforcement endangered investigation of violent crime and other aspects of public safety. Original series *2010:
Raquel Rutledge
Raquel Rutledge is an Pulitzer Prize-winning American investigative reporter working at the ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel''. Her investigations have uncovered government benefits fraud, public health, workplace safety issues, tax oversight failure ...
of the ''
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently ...
'' "for her penetrating reports on the fraud and abuse in a child-care program for low-wage working parents that fleeced taxpayers and imperiled children, resulting in a state and federal crackdown on providers."
*2011: Frank Main, Mark Konkol, and
John J. Kim
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...
'', "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."
*2012:
Sara Ganim
Sara Elizabeth Ganim (born September 9, 1987) is an American journalist, now a correspondent for CNN. Previously she was a reporter for ''The Patriot-News'', a daily newspaper in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. There she broke the story that featured ...
and the staff of ''
The Patriot-News
''The Patriot-News'' is the largest newspaper serving the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area. In 2005, the newspaper was ranked in the top 100 in daily and Sunday circulation in the United States. It has been owned by Advance Publica ...
'', "For courageously revealing and adeptly covering the explosive Penn State sex scandal involving former football coach
Jerry Sandusky
Gerald Arthur Sandusky (born January 26, 1944) is an American retired college football coach and convicted serial child molester. Sandusky served as an assistant coach for his entire career, mostly at Pennsylvania State University under Joe ...
Star Tribune
The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...
'' (Minneapolis), "For their powerfu reports on the spike in infant deaths at poorly regulated day-care homes, resulting in legislative action to strengthen rules.. "
*2014:
Will Hobson
Will Hobson is an American journalist and the recipient of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting.
Early life and career
Hobson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1984. He attended Boston College where he wrote op-eds for the student ...
Tampa Bay Times
The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...
'', "for their relentless investigation into the squalid conditions that marked housing for the city's substantial homeless population, leading to swift reforms."
*2015: Rob Kuznia, Rebecca Kimitch and Frank Suraci of the ''
Daily Breeze
The ''Daily Breeze'' is a 57,000-circulation daily newspaper published in Hermosa Beach, California, United States. It serves the South Bay cities of Los Angeles County. Its slogan is "LAX to LA Harbor".
Early history
The paper was founded ...
Tampa Bay Times
The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...
'', "For exposing a local school board's culpability in turning some county schools into failure factories, with tragic consequences for the community. (Moved by the Board from the Public Service category, where it was also entered.)"
*2017: The staff of the '' Salt Lake Tribune'', "For a string of vivid reports revealing the perverse, punitive and cruel treatment given to
sexual assault
Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...
victims at
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...
, one of Utah's most powerful institutions.
*2018: The staff of the ''
Cincinnati Enquirer
''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the ''Enquirer'' is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, alt ...
'', "For a riveting and insightful narrative and video documenting seven days of Greater ''
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...
''s heroin epidemic, revealing how the deadly addiction has ravaged families and communities."
*2019: The staff of '' The Advocate, Baton Rouge, LA'', "For a damning portrayal of the state’s discriminatory conviction system, including a Jim Crow-era law, that enabled
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
courts to send defendants to jail without jury consensus on the accused’s guilt."
*2020: The staff of ''
The Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by T ...
'' "for illuminating, impactful reporting on a lucrative, undisclosed financial relationship between the city’s mayor and the public hospital system she helped to oversee."
*2021: Kathleen McGrory and Neil Bedi of the
Tampa Bay Times
The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...
"for resourceful, creative reporting that exposed how a powerful and politically connected sheriff built a secretive intelligence operation that harassed residents and used grades and child welfare records to profile schoolchildren."Original series *
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
: Madison Hopkins of the
Better Government Association
The Better Government Association (BGA) is a Chicago-based investigative journalism non-profit organization.
History
The BGA was established in 1923 to increase voter participation in Chicago elections, and was originally intended to serve as ...
and
Cecilia Reyes
Dr. Cecilia Reyes is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Scott Lobdell and Carlos Pacheco, the character first appeared in ''X-Men'' (vol. 2) #65 (June 1997). She belongs to the subspeci ...
of the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'', "For a piercing examination of the city’s long history of failed building- and fire-safety code enforcement, which let scofflaw landlords commit serious violations that resulted in dozens of unnecessary deaths."