A photographer and photo editor at The New York Times for 31 years, freelance journalist Jose R. Lopez has shot presidents, Super Bowls and the end of the Bosnian War. He also contributed to The Times's 2002 Breaking News and Feature Photography Prize-winning staff entries on the September 11 attacks and the war in Afghanistan.
This year, Lopez covered the most thrilling stages of the Pulitzer Prize process, including February's journalism juror meetings at Columbia University and the announcement press conference on April 15. Additionally, he became one of the only photographers to document portions of a Pulitzer Prize Board meeting beyond the annual group photo.
To learn more about Lopez and his work, please visit his website.
The Pulitzer World Room located inside the Columbia Journalism School, where the judging of the 2019 Pulitzer Prizes were held on Feb. 21 and 22, 2019. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
The name tags await the jurors at the start of the first day of judging. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Dana Canedy, the Pulitzer Prize Administrator, greeted and welcomed the 76 journalists, editors, and authors who made the trip to Columbia University to judge the 2019 entries. (Public Service juror and 2017 Editorial Writing winner Art Cullen telecommuted after his flight was canceled due to inclement weather.) (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Jurors worked at tables that represented the 14 journalism categories. Five of those categories were judged here in the Pulitzer World Room. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Jurors were not afraid to engage in a spirited debate or confront each other as they took their roles seriously in deciding which nominations would rise to the final selections. Ethan Bronner of Bloomberg News makes his point to author Mark Whitaker, both jurors in the International Reporting category. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Lydia Polgreen, editor in chief of HuffPost, focuses on the comments being made by a fellow juror in the Criticism category. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Sally S. Buzbee, Associated Press, right, listens to fellow juror Kevin G. Riley, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, as he made his point in judging the entries in the National Reporting category. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Sherrie Marshall of The Telegraph, Macon, Georgia, concentrates while reading an entry. 2017 Investigative Reporting winner Eric Eyre of the Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette-Mail, reads the entry on his laptop. Both were jurors in the Local Reporting category. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Michael I. Day of The Philadelphia Inquirer, center, makes a point to his fellow jurors in the Investigative Reporting category during the first day of judging. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Jurors for seven different journalism categories, filled the Joseph D. Jamail Lecture Hall as they proceeded to read the entries. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Ben Welsh of the Los Angeles Times makes his point to fellow jurors in the Public Service category. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Anne Fulenwider, editor in chief of Marie Claire, made herself comfortable as she read the entries in the Feature Writing category. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Kevin Merida, editor in chief of The Undefeated, makes his point to fellow jurors in the Public Service category. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Cindy McCurry Ross of The News Press/USA Today Network makes her point to fellow jurors in the Local Reporting category. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Katti Gray, a freelance journalist and juror, reads an entry in the Commentary category. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Located on the seventh floor, the jurors for the Breaking News and Feature Photography categories met in the Sulzberger Conference Room. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Left to right, jurors Darcy Eveleigh, photo editor/visual journalist; Michele McDonald, photo editor, Portland Press Herald; J. David Ake, director of photography/Associated Press; and Jonathan Bachman, freelance photographer, listened to Danese Kenon, director of photography/Philadelphia Inquirer, as she shared her opinion on the photo entries in the Sulzberger Conference Room. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Danese Kenon during the judging of one of two Photography categories. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
2013 Editorial Writing winner and Tampa Bay Times Editor of Editorials Tim Nickens didn't seem to notice the janitor cleaning up in the background as he continued to work on Explanatory Reporting entries into the evening of the first day. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Jurors for the International Reporting category crafted their recommendations to the Pulitzer Board on their laptops. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Lee Ann Colacioppo, of The Denver Post, seeks guidance in regard to an entry from Pulitzer Prize Administrator Dana Canedy towards the end of the second day of judging. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Paul Pronovost, of the Cape Cod Times, thanks and bids farewell to Pulitzer Prize Administrator Dana Canedy and Deputy Administrator Megan Mulligan at the end of the second day of judging. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Folders await the Board members who met in the Pulitzer World Room to choose the winners of this year’s Pulitzer Prizes. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Pulitzer Prize Administrator Dana Canedy sits alone in the Pulitzer World Room and reviews her notes before the start of the Board meeting. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Canedy, left, goes over the agenda with Deputy Administrator Bud Kliment before the start of the board meeting. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Robert Blau, left, executive editor of projects and investigations, Bloomberg News, and Steven Hahn, professor of history, NYU, both co-chairs of the Pulitzer Prize Board, during the morning session of the board meeting. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Members of the Pulitzer Board reviewed a video that will be aired on the website on the day of the announcement of this year's winners. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Emily Ramshaw, editor in chief of The Texas Tribune, listens to Eugene Robinson, columnist and associate editor, The Washington Post, during the morning session of the board meeting. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Left to right, Nicole Carroll, editor in chief of USA Today; Nancy Barnes, senior vice president for news of National Public Radio; and Aminda Marqués Gonzalez, publisher and executive editor of the Miami Herald, listen during the morning session. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Junot Díaz, a professor of writing at MIT, looks over the books that were entered in the competition. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Elizabeth Alexander, president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, during the meeting. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Robinson (left) and author Katherine Boo listen to Harvard professor Tommie Shelby during the morning session of business. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
AP Vice President and Editor at Large for Standards John Daniszewski and Gail Collins, an op-ed columnist for The New York Times, during the morning session. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Neil Brown (left), president of the Poynter Institute, and Stephen Engelberg, editor-in-chief of ProPublica, reviewing papers during the morning session. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Canedy, left, meets with her team (clockwise: Bud Kliment, Megan Mulligan, Sean Murphy and Joseph O. Legaspi) in her office on Saturday morning as they prepare for the Monday afternoon announcement. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Canedy prepares for the announcement in the Joseph D. Jamail Lecture Hall with producer Gene Graham (behind teleprompter) and Columbia Journalism School broadcast director Jim Bittel (behind Graham). (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Bud Kliment, foreground, confers with Megan Mulligan in the Pulitzer office as they prepare for the announcement. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Dana Canedy announces the 2019 winners in the Joseph D. Jamail Lecture Hall. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Students from various high schools, colleges and universities attended the announcement of the Pulitzer Prizes in the Joseph D. Jamail Lecture Hall. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Students took turns posing for photos with Canedy after the announcement. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
Canedy made time to answer press inquiries after the announcement. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
"The Pulitzer": A cocktail served chilled and made with 1/2 oz of St. Germaine, Prosecco and a lemon twist. (Credit: Copyright Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)