FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Megan Mulligan, [email protected] or 212-854-3841
New York, NY (Dec. 22, 2020) — The New York Times has withdrawn its 2019 entry in International Reporting. Upon review, the Pulitzer Prize Board has accepted the Times’ action and rescinded its designation as a 2019 Pulitzer Finalist.
The International Reporting Pulitzer jury chose a New York Times story and accompanying podcast, “Caliphate,” as one of three finalists in the category. In 2020, after Canadian authorities charged a figure profiled in the entry with perpetrating a terrorist hoax, an internal Times investigation concluded that the work failed its "standards for accuracy.” The Board accepted withdrawal of the entry as an appropriate resolution of this matter.
The Pulitzer Prize Board chooses the winners of the Prizes in journalism, books, drama and music each April. Board members serve a maximum of nine years in three-year terms.
The Pulitzer Prizes were established by Joseph Pulitzer, a Hungarian-American journalist and newspaper publisher, who left money to Columbia University upon his death in 1911. A portion of his bequest was used to found the School of Journalism in 1912 and establish the Pulitzer Prizes, which were first awarded in 1917. The 19-member Pulitzer Board is composed mainly of leading journalists or news executives from media outlets across the U.S., as well as five academics or persons in the arts. The dean of Columbia's journalism school and the administrator of the prizes are nonvoting members. The chair rotates annually to the most senior member or members. The board is self-perpetuating in the election of members. Voting members may serve three terms of three years for a total of nine years.
###