Photo by Dan Macy
The Washington Post and The Guardian won the top Pulitzer Prize today for their coverage of the National Security Agency leaks by whistleblower Edward Snowden. The prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Public Service was awarded to both The Post and The Guardian US for their “revelation of widespread secret surveillance by the National Security Agency, marked by authoritative and insightful reports that helped the public understand how the disclosures fit into the larger framework of national security,” the Pulitzer committee stated.
After the prizes were announced, Snowden issued the following statement, first published by The Guardian:
I am grateful to the committee for their recognition of the efforts of those involved in the last year’s reporting, and join others around the world in congratulating Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, Barton Gellman, Ewen MacAskill and all of the others at the Guardian and Washington Post on winning the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
Today’s decision is a vindication for everyone who believes that the public has a role in government. We owe it to the efforts of the brave reporters and their colleagues who kept working in the face of extraordinary intimidation, including the forced destruction of journalistic materials, the inappropriate use of terrorism laws, and so many other means of pressure to get them to stop what the world now recognises was work of vital public importance.
This decision reminds us that what no individual conscience can change, a free press can. My efforts would have been meaningless without the dedication, passion, and skill of these newspapers, and they have my gratitude and respect for their extraordinary service to our society. Their work has given us a better future and a more accountable democracy.
But the Public Service Pulitzer wasn’t the only win for The Post. Eli Saslow was awarded the Explanatory Reporting Pulitzer for his stories on food stamps in post-recession America, which the committee said “illuminates a significant and complex subject, demonstrating mastery of the subject, lucid writing and clear presentation.”
In other categories, The Boston Globe was awarded the Breaking News Reporting prize for its coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing, while Chris Hamby of The Center for Public Integrity was awarded the coveted Investigative Reporting prize for “his reports on how some lawyers and doctors rigged a system to deny benefits to coal miners stricken with black lung disease, resulting in remedial legislative efforts.”
The New York Times had two staffers win photography prizes—Tyler Hicks for Breaking News Photography and Josh Haner for Feature Photography. And for the first time since 2004, no award was given out for Feature Writing. Make of that what you will.
You can see the full list of this year’s Pulitzer Prize winners and finalists here.
