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The 2025 Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Illustrated Reporting and Commentary

Finalist: Iran Martinez, Steve Breen, Jamie Self and Giovanni Moujaes of inewsource.org, San Diego

For “Fentanyl: A Decade of Death,” which deftly weaves hard data and human stories with effective metaphors to create a powerful visual narrative for a national audience and the local San Diego readership.

Nominated Work

Biography

Iran Martinez Jr. or “JR” has always been deeply connected to his community, using his passion in storytelling and digital communication to make a meaningful impact. After graduating from UC Davis with a double major in Cinema & Digital Media and Communication, he returned to his hometown of Calexico, CA, to support local businesses and contribute to the area’s economic growth.

Recognizing a strong demand for digital media support among small businesses reliant on word-of-mouth promotion, JR launched his own digital marketing business. He identified businesses without an online presence, introducing them to social media marketing and website development for the first time. Through branded designs and affordable solutions, he helped clients strengthen their brand using organic imagery, created custom social media templates, and implemented website-building platforms to transition their businesses online.

Currently, JR serves as the Audience Engagement Producer for inewsource, a nonprofit investigative journalism newsroom focused on amplifying community voices. In this role, he combines his expertise in digital media production and communication to transform investigative stories into visually compelling and engaging digital content.

He is passionate about the power of local journalism to inform and empower communities. Acknowledging that in-depth investigations can feel overwhelming to readers, JR uses digital art, video and creative storytelling to break down complex topics and make them more digestible. With social media being a growing part of how information is consumed, he continuously innovates how stories are shared and crafts content aimed to engage a modern audience.

Steve Breen was born in Los Angeles, raised in Orange County and graduated from the University of California at Riverside with a degree in political science. Steve got his start in newspapers at the Asbury Park Press in New Jersey in 1994. He worked for the The San Diego Union-Tribune for 22 years and now works for for inewsource.org, a San Diego-based investigative newsroom. Breen, a Pulitzer Prize and Emmy Award-winning journalist, is currently working on a master’s degree in digital media at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. He has written and illustrated several children’s books including Stick, Violet the Pilot and Sky&Ty and Sib Squad. Steve lives in San Diego County with his family and enjoys tacos, running along the coast, playing the guitar and reading.

Jamie Self joined inewsource as managing editor in June 2021. Previously, she was the senior editor of politics and state government for The State newspaper, a McClatchy news organization in her home state of South Carolina. Before becoming an editor, she was an investigative reporter and covered S.C. politics and government.

Giovanni Moujaes is a first-generation Lebanese American journalist and news innovator. He is currently leads product at inewsource in San Diego.

Born and raised in San Diego, Giovanni has worked at news organizations up and down the coast of California including The San Diego Union-Tribune and Lookout Santa Cruz. At Lookout, he served as director of audience growth, developing engagement and product strategies that grew the local news start-up's reach among diverse and emerging local news audiences in Santa Cruz.

Prior to joining Lookout, Giovanni spent nearly five years at KTLA 5 News in Los Angeles, where he led efforts on the station’s YouTube and Instagram accounts – the latter of which became one of the five largest local news followings on the platform. In 2017, Giovanni won an OJA for his work as lead producer/editor on the 360 documentary series “Turning Tides: The Story of the Salton Sea'' with USC Annenberg’s journalism group in partnership with The Desert Sun.

Giovanni earned a bachelor’s in broadcast and digital journalism from the University of Southern California. He was one of two students in his class to receive the Outstanding Broadcast and Digital Journalism Scholar distinction and now serves on the Alumni Advisory Board at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

Winners

Prize Winner in Illustrated Reporting and Commentary in 2025:

Ann Telnaes of The Washington Post

For delivering piercing commentary on powerful people and institutions with deftness, creativity – and a fearlessness that led to her departure from the news organization after 17 years. Illustrated Reporting and Commentary

Finalists

Nominated as finalists in Illustrated Reporting and Commentary in 2025:

Ernesto Barbieri and Jess Ruliffson, contributors, The Boston Globe

For “True Stories From an ICU,” a beautiful, funny and frequently haunting depiction of the fragility of human life, with each frame perfectly paced over a seamless scroll.

The Jury

John Diaz(Chair)

Former Editorial Page Editor, San Francisco Chronicle

Susie Cagle

Enterprise Editor, The San Francisco Standard

Roz Chast

Cartoonist, The New Yorker

Alberto Cairo

Associate Professor/Knight Chair in Visual Journalism, School of Communications, University of Miami

Mariel Garza

Former Editorials Editor, Los Angeles Times

Winners in Illustrated Reporting and Commentary

See All Illustrated Reporting and Commentary

2025 Prize Winners

National Reporting

Staff of The Wall Street Journal

For chronicling political and personal shifts of the richest person in the world, Elon Musk, including his turn to conservative politics, his use of legal and illegal drugs and his private conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
See All 2025 Winners