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Journalism is a differentiator, not a commodity.”

“At a time when the media business is abuzz with excitement and anxiety about powerful new tech tools,” said Neil Brown, Poynter president and co-chair of the Pulitzer Prize Board, “there is nothing - nothing - artificial about the courageous reporting and storytelling the Pulitzer Prizes honors today. And while news organizations are in the news business and not the let’s-win-awards business, it’s heartening to see such work honored with journalism’s highest honor. His columns documented how Alabama’s Confederate heritage, with all of its racism and exclusion, still holds a major place in the state - in the year 2022 (!) and beyond.Įven during a time of massive layoffs and decreasing resources, local news continues to provide an invaluable service daily across the nation. AL.com won a second Pulitzer, this one going to Kyle Whitmire in Commentary. Those friends included Favre, who wanted a new volleyball arena for his alma mater, Southern Mississippi, where his daughter was on the team at the time.Īgain, it was local reporting that uncovered all this malfeasance.Īnd there was more. Her work revealed how the former governor of Mississippi used his office to steer millions of dollars away from those who needed it the most, those in the state welfare system, and into the pockets of family and friends. The scandal involving NFL legendary quarterback Brett Favre was the subject of Pulitzer Prize-winning work from Mississippi Today’s Anna Wolfe. That work also led to a well-earned Pulitzer in Local Reporting.īut it wasn’t the only Local Reporting Pulitzer. But the fine work of AL.com’s John Archibald, Ashley Remkus, Ramsey Archibald and Challen Stephens uncovered the scandalous behavior and led to the resignation of the police chief, a state audit and, even more impactful, four new laws. Without local journalism, the police force in the town of Brookside, Alabama, might still be preying on city residents to increase city revenue. For that, they won a Pulitzer in the Editorial Writing category.

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To right that wrong, the Herald’s Nancy Ancrum, Amy Driscoll, Luisa Yanez, Isadora Rangel and Lauren Costantino wrote a series of editorials about the failed promises of local leaders. The editorial board of the Miami Herald was among those snookered by these officials, often endorsing candidates who failed to deliver on their promises. Without local journalism, the people of Miami might not have remembered how Florida public officials failed to deliver on promises for many taxpayer-funded amenities made over decades.

Their efforts won a Pulitzer in Breaking News. But the staff of the Los Angeles Times alerted citizens to those recordings. Then, perhaps, we wouldn’t know about the secretly recorded and disturbing conversations among city officials in Los Angeles that included racist comments and the impact it had on local politics. Imagine if local journalism didn’t exist. Wade.īut the Pulitzers’ spotlight was on local news. If there was one theme that stood out among the winners of this year’s Pulitzer Prizes it’s that local journalism can still make a difference in the lives of everyday people.Īs expected, this year’s Pulitzers recognized the brave work being done to cover the war in Ukraine, as well as the ramifications of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. And that makes good dogged journalism, especially at a local level, more critically important than ever. Sadly, bad government - defined by corruption, failed promises, hypocrisy and dishonesty - exists far too much. More accurately, don’t you want critically important news stories? Here’s a twist on an old saying in the news business: Do you want good government or good journalism?

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