NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Times won four Pulitzer Prizes and the New Yorker three on Monday for journalism in 2024 that touched on topics like the fentanyl crisis, the U.S. military, and last summer’s assassination attempt on President Donald Trump. The Pulitzers’ prestigious public service medal went to ProPublica for the second straight year.
Kavitha Surana, Lizzie Presser, Cassandra Jaramillo, and Stacy Kranitz were honored for reporting on pregnant women who died after doctors delayed urgent care in states with strict abortion laws. The Washington Post won for its “urgent and illuminating” breaking news coverage of the Trump assassination attempt.
The Pulitzers also highlighted Ann Telnaes, who quit the Post in January after the news outlet refused to run her editorial cartoon lampooning tech chiefs — including Post owner Jeff Bezos — cozying up to Trump. The awards praised her “fearlessness.”
On May 5, 2025, the Pulitzers honored the best in journalism from 2024 across 15 categories, along with eight arts categories that included books, music, and theater. The public service winner receives a gold medal, while all other winners receive $15,000.
The New York Times showcased its breadth with awards recognizing reporting from Afghanistan, Sudan, Baltimore, and Butler, Pennsylvania. Doug Mills won in breaking news photography for his powerful images of the Trump assassination attempt, including one that captured a bullet in the air near the GOP candidate.
Furthermore, Azam Ahmed, Christina Goldbaum, and contributing writer Matthieu Aikins from the Times won an explanatory reporting prize for their examination of U.S. policy failures in Afghanistan. Declan Walsh and the Times’ staff were recognized for their investigation into the Sudan conflict.
A significant milestone was achieved by The Baltimore Banner, a local news outlet that collaborated with the Times. Reporters Alissa Zhu, Nick Thieme, and Jessica Gallagher won in local reporting for their stories on Baltimore’s fentanyl crisis, which has disproportionately affected Black men. Editor-in-chief Kimi Yoshino expressed her pride, stating, “This is a huge milestone for us. I told the newsroom today that never in my wildest dreams did I think we would be here at this moment. It is a testament to the power of local news, the need for local news, and what journalists can do when they focus on important stories in our community.”
The Banner has created a statistical model shared with journalists in cities like Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco to help with similar stories. Additionally, Reuters won for its own investigative series on fentanyl, highlighting how lax regulations both inside and outside the United States make the drug inexpensive and widely available. In a related effort, inewsource.org in San Diego was a finalist in the illustrated reporting and commentary category for its stories on fentanyl.
The New Yorker’s Mosab Abu Toha won for his compelling commentaries on Gaza. The magazine also received accolades for its “In the Dark” podcast, which discussed the killing of Iraqi civilians by the U.S. military, and for feature photography by Moises Saman, who captured haunting images of the Sednaya prison in Syria.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal earned a Pulitzer for its reporting on Elon Musk, covering his turn to conservative politics, his use of legal and illegal drugs, and his private conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Journal was also a finalist for its “cool-headed” reporting on the plight of Evan Gershkovich, who is imprisoned in Russia.
In a special recognition, the Pulitzers awarded a citation to the late Chuck Stone for his pioneering work covering the civil rights movement. Stone was the first Black columnist at the Philadelphia Daily News and founded the National Association of Black Journalists.
Mark Warren of Esquire won the feature writing prize for his poignant portrait of a Baptist pastor and small-town mayor who died by suicide after his secret online life was exposed by a right-wing news site. Alexandra Lange, a contributing writer for Bloomberg CityLab, earned an award in criticism for her “graceful and genre-expanding” writing about public spaces for families.
The Houston Chronicle’s Raj Mankad, Sharon Steinmann, Lisa Falkenberg, and Leah Binkovitz won the Pulitzer in editorial writing for their series on dangerous train crossings. The Associated Press was a finalist in breaking news reporting for its own coverage of the Trump assassination attempt, and in investigative reporting for its partnership with PBS FRONTLINE and the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland and Arizona State University. Their work documented over 1,000 deaths at the hands of police using methods of subduing people that were supposed to be non-lethal.
This year's Pulitzer Prizes not only celebrate outstanding journalism but also highlight the critical issues affecting society, from local crises to international conflicts. As the landscape of media continues to evolve, the recognition of these dedicated journalists serves as a reminder of the power of the press in holding those in authority accountable and shedding light on the stories that matter most.
