NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Daily News and ProPublica won the Pulitzer Prize for public service Monday for uncovering how police abused eviction rules to oust hundreds of people, mostly poor minorities, from their homes.
In a year when the tumultuous presidential campaign dominated U.S. news, David A. Fahrenthold of The Washington Post was honored with the Pulitzer for national reporting for exposing questionable practices at Donald Trump's charitable foundation. The award for commentary went to Peggy Noonan of The Wall Street Journal for columns that the judges said "connected readers to the shared virtues of Americans during one of the nation's most divisive political campaigns."
The New York Times' staff received the international reporting award for its work on Russian President Vladimir Putin's efforts to project Moscow's power abroad. Times writer C.J. Chivers won the feature writing award for a story about a Marine's descent into violence after returning home from war, told "through an artful accumulation of fact and detail."
Winners ranged from journalism partnerships spanning hundreds of reporters to small newspapers. Art Cullen of The Storm Lake Times, a twice-weekly, 3,000-circulation family-owned paper in Iowa, won the editorial writing award, with the judges saying his "tenacious reporting, impressive expertise and engaging writing" successfully challenged powerful corporate agricultural interests in the state.
In troubled times for newspapers, "the work that wins Pulitzer Prizes reminds us that we are not in a period of decline in journalism. Rather, we are in the midst of a revolution," with new partnerships, technology and media taking the field in new directions, prize administrator Mike Pride said.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, McClatchy and the Miami Herald — which amassed a group of over 400 journalists to examine of the leaked "Panama Papers" and expose the way that politicians, criminals and rich people stashed case in offshore accounts — won the Pulitzer for explanatory reporting.
Eric Eyre of The Charleston Gazette-Mail won the investigative reporting prize for writing about the scourge of opiate painkillers in poor parts of West Virginia.
The staff of the East Bay Times in Oakland, California, received the breaking news reporting award for its coverage of a fire that killed 36 people at a warehouse party and its follow-up reporting on how local officials hadn't taken action that might have prevented it.
The staff of The Salt Lake Tribune received the local reporting award for its work on how sexual assault victims at Brigham Young University are treated.
Hilton Als, a theater critic for The New Yorker, won the prize for criticism, with judges praising how he strove to connect theater to the real-world, "shifting landscape of gender, sexuality and race." The award in editorial cartooning went to Jim Morin of The Miami Herald for work "that delivered sharp perspectives through flawless artistry, biting prose and crisp wit."
Freelancer Daniel Berehulak won the breaking news photography award for his images, published in the Times, of the toll of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's crackdown on drug dealers and users. Berehulak won the feature photography Pulitzer in 2015 for his work on the Ebola outbreak in Africa.
This year's feature photography winner was E. Jason Wambsgans of the Chicago Tribune, for his portrayal of a 10-year-old boy who had been shot.
Considered the most distinguished awards in American journalism, the Pulitzers are handed out in 14 categories of reporting, photography, criticism and commentary by newspapers, magazines and websites.
Arts prizes are awarded in seven categories, including fiction, drama and music.
This is the 101st year of the contest, established by newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer. Public service award winners receive a gold medal; the other awards carry a prize of $15,000 each.
The 2017 Pulitzer Prize winners and finalists:
JOURNALISM
Public Service
New York Daily News and ProPublica for uncovering, primarily through the work of reporter Sarah Ryley, widespread abuse of eviction rules by the police to oust hundreds of people, most of them poor minorities.
Also nominated as finalists: The Chicago Tribune for reporting on prescription drug dispensing; and the Houston Chronicle for coverage of cost-cutting that denied tutoring, counseling and other special education services to families.
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Breaking News Reporting
East Bay Times in Oakland, California, for coverage of the "Ghost Ship" fire, which killed 36 people at a warehouse party.
Also nominated as finalists: Dallas Morning News staff for coverage of a shooting that killed five police officers; and Orlando Sentinel staff for coverage of the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub.
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Investigative Reporting
Eric Eyre of the Charleston Gazette-Mail in West Virginia for reporting to expose the flood of opioids flowing into depressed West Virginia counties.
Also nominated as finalists: Michael J. Berens and Patricia Callahan of the Chicago Tribune for a series that documented neglect and abuse at Illinois group homes for developmentally disabled adults; and Steve Reilly of USA Today Network for an investigation that found 9,000 teachers who should have been flagged for past disciplinary offenses but were not.
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Explanatory Reporting
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, McClatchy and the Miami Herald for the Panama Papers, a series of stories using a collaboration of more than 300 reporters to expose the hidden infrastructure and global scale of offshore tax havens.
Nominated as finalists: Joan Garrett McClane and Joy Lukachick Smith of the Chattanooga Times Free Press for an examination of income inequality; staff of National Geographic, Washington, D.C., for an exploration of gender; and Julia Angwin, Jeff Larson, Surya Mattu, Lauren Kirchner and Terry Parris Jr. of ProPublica for an examination that made tangible the abstract world of algorithms.
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Local Reporting
The Salt Lake Tribune staff for reports revealing the mistreatment of sexual assault victims at Brigham Young University.
Also nominated as finalists: Jenna Russell, Maria Cramer, Michael Rezendes, Todd Wallack and Scott Helman of The Boston Globe for a look at how the closing of psychiatric hospitals led to deadly encounters with police; and Michael Schwirtz, Michael Winerip and Robert Gebeloff of The New York Times for showing that minority inmates were punished at a far higher rate than white inmates.
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National Reporting
David A. Fahrenthold of The Washington Post for reporting casting doubt on Donald Trump's assertions of generosity toward charities.
Also nominated as finalists: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution staff for a series revealing the prevalence of sexual misconduct by doctors; and Renee Dudley, Steve Stecklow, Alexandra Harney and other members of the Reuters staff for uncovering a U.S. college admissions process corrupted by systematic cheating on standardized tests in Asia.
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International Reporting
The New York Times staff for coverage of Vladimir Putin's efforts to project Russia's power abroad.
Also nominated as finalists: Chris Hamby of BuzzFeed News for an exposé of a dispute-settlement process used by multinational corporations; International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, McClatchy and the Miami Herald for the Panama Papers (moved to the Explanatory Reporting category); and The Wall Street Journal staff for coverage of Turkey.
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Feature Writing
C.J. Chivers of The New York Times for a story on a Marine's postwar descent into violence.
Also nominated as finalists: Adam Entous and Devlin Barrett of The Wall Street Journal for telling the story of one woman's professional ruin after years of service to her country; and Eli Saslow of The Washington Post for chronicling the divided and restive body politic.
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Commentary
Peggy Noonan of The Wall Street Journal for columns during one of the nation's most divisive political campaigns.
Also nominated as finalists: Dahleen Glanton of the Chicago Tribune for pieces about politics and race in Chicago and beyond; and Trudy Rubin of the Philadelphia Media Network for commentary written in world hotspots.
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Criticism
Hilton Als of The New Yorker for reviews that put stage dramas within a real-world cultural context.
Also nominated as finalists: Ty Burr of The Boston Globe for reviews of films and other cultural topics; and Laura Reiley of the Tampa Bay Times for lively restaurant reviews.
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Editorial Writing
Art Cullen of The Storm Lake Times for editorials that challenged powerful corporate agricultural interests in Iowa.
Also nominated as finalists: Joe Holley of the Houston Chronicle for editorials on gun laws, gun culture and gun tragedies; and Fred Hiatt of The Washington Post for editorials about the U.S. presidential election.
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Editorial Cartooning
Jim Morin of the Miami Herald for editorial cartoons that delivered sharp perspectives through flawless artistry, biting prose and crisp wit.
Also nominated as finalists in this category were: Jen Sorensen, freelance cartoonist, for a selection of work appearing in a variety of U.S. publications; and Steve Sack of the Star Tribune in Minnesota for work that took on the biggest issues of the year.
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Breaking News Photography
Daniel Berehulak, freelance photographer, for images published in The New York Times showing the disregard for human life in the Philippines brought about by a government assault on drug dealers and users.
Also nominated as finalists: The Associated Press staff for images of the people of Iraq; and Jonathan Bachman, freelance photographer, for an image published by Reuters of one woman's stand during a protest in Baton Rouge.
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Feature Photography
E. Jason Wambsgans of the Chicago Tribune for a portrayal of a 10-year-old boy and his mother striving to put the boy's life back together after he survived a shooting.
Also nominated as finalists: Jake May of The Flint Journal in Michigan for photographs from Flint's contaminated-water crisis; and Katie Falkenberg of the Los Angeles Times for a photo essay from the front lines of Brazil's war on Zika.
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LETTERS, DRAMA AND MUSIC
Fiction
"The Underground Railroad," by Colson Whitehead.
Also nominated as finalists: "Imagine Me Gone," by Adam Haslett; and "The Sport of Kings," by C.E. Morgan.
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Drama
"Sweat," by Lynn Nottag.
Also nominated as finalists: "The Wolves," by Sarah DeLappe; and "A 24-Decade History of Popular Music," by Taylor Mac.
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History
"Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy," by Heather Ann Thompson.
Also nominated as finalists: "Brothers at Arms: American Independence and the Men of France and Spain Who Saved It," by Larrie D. Ferreiro; and "New England Bound: Slavery and Colonization in Early America," by Wendy Warren.
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Biography or Autobiography
"The Return," by Hisham Matar.
Also nominated as finalists: "In the Darkroom," by Susan Faludi; and "When Breath Becomes Air," by the late Paul Kalanithi.
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Poetry
"Olio," by Tyehimba Jess.
Also nominated as finalists: "XX: Poems for the Twentieth Century," by Campbell McGrath; and "Collected Poems: 1950-2012," by the late Adrienne Rich.
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General Nonfiction
"Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City," by Matthew Desmond.
Also nominated as finalists: "In a Different Key: The Story of Autism," by John Donvan and Caren Zucker; and "The Politics of Mourning: Death and Honor in Arlington National Cemetery," by Micki McElya.
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Music
"Angel's Bone," by Du Yun.
Also nominated as finalists: "Bound to the Bow," by Ashley Fure; and "Ipsa Dixit," by Kate Soper.