Associated Press wins public service, photo Pulitzers for Ukraine coverage

NEW YORK: The Associated Press won two Pulitzer Prizes for journalism on Monday (May 8), in public service and breaking news photography, for coverage of the Ukraine war that included startling images of Russia’s siege of Mariupol.

AL.com, of Birmingham, Alabama, won two Pulitzers, in local reporting and commentary. The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and the Washington Post also won two awards each.

The New York Times was honoured with an international reporting award for its coverage of Russian killings in the Ukrainian town of Bucha. Pulitzers were also given for work surrounding the US Supreme Court’s decision overturning the Roe v Wade abortion standard, the government’s policy of child separation at the border, and welfare spending in Mississippi.

For its public service award, the Pulitzers cited the work of AP videojournalist Mstyslav Chernov, photographer Evgeniy Maloletka, video producer Vasilisa Stepanenko and reporter Lori Hinnant. For nearly three weeks, AP had the only international journalists in Mariupol, capturing notable images of an injured, pregnant woman being rushed to medical help and Russia firing on civilian targets.

Mariupol’s deputy mayor said the world’s attention to the work pressured Russians to open an evacuation route, saving thousands of civilian lives.

“It is no overstatement to say that their work has been a true public service," AP Executive Editor Julie Pace said during a staff Zoom celebration. “They told the world of the human toll of this war in its earliest days. They served as a counterweight against Russian disinformation, and they helped open up a humanitarian corridor out of Mariupol with the power of their work.”

Maloletka was also part of AP’s team that won the prize for breaking news photography in Ukraine that included Bernat Armangue, Emilio Morenatti, Felipe Dana, Nariman El-Mofty, Rodrigo Abd and Vadim Ghirda.

“To be there is probably more important and more critical than ever," said David Ake, AP’s director of photography. “You can’t make the moment that captures the world if you’re not there, and being there is often dirty and difficult and dangerous.”

Pulitzer Prize Board co-chair Neil Brown highlighted the dangers faced by journalists, noting the imprisonment in Russia of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on spying charges, which his family and the newspaper vehemently deny. Brown said the board demands Gershkovich's immediate release.

The Pulitzers honour the best in journalism from 2022 in 15 categories, as well as eight arts categories focused on books, music and theatre. The public service winner receives a gold medal. All other winners receive US$15,000. The prizes were established in the will of newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer and first awarded in 1917.

The Washington Post’s Caroline Kitchener won for “unflinching reporting” on the consequences of the abortion decision, including the story of a Texas teenager who gave birth to twins after new restrictions denied her an abortion. The Post's Eli Saslow won for feature writing.

The Atlantic won the Pulitzer for explanatory journalism for Caitlin Dickerson’s exhaustive probe of the Trump administration policy of separating parents from children at the US border.

The Wall Street Journal won for its investigation into federal officials holding stock that could have been affected by government action, including dozens who reported trading stock in companies shortly before their own agencies announced enforcement actions against them.

The Los Angeles Times won for breaking news for its stories revealing a secretly recorded conversation with city officials making racist comments. The newspaper's Christina House won for feature photography, for her images of a 22-year-old pregnant woman living on the street.

Kyle Whitmire, of AL.com, won a commentary award for “measured and persuasive columns” about how Alabama’s Confederate heritage and a legacy of racism.

His Alabama colleagues John Archibald, Ashley Remkus, Ramsey Archibald and Challen Stephens won a local reporting award for a probe into a local police force. Anna Wolfe, of Mississippi Today, was honored for her reporting on a former Mississippi governor sending federal welfare money to family and friends, including NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre.

Andrew Long Chu, of New York magazine, won a Pulitzer for criticism.

Nancy Ancrum, Amy Driscoll, Luisa Yanez, Isadora Rangell and Lauren Constantino, of the Miami Herald, won for editorial writing.

Mona Chalabi, a contributor to The New York Times, won for illustrated reporting and commentary. The staff of Gimlet Media won for audio reporting.