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Breaking News Reporting

For a distinguished example of local, state or national reporting of breaking news that, as quickly as possible, captures events accurately as they occur, and, as time passes, illuminates, provides context and expands upon the initial coverage, Fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
Year
Winners
Finalists
2025

Staff of The Washington Post

For urgent and illuminating coverage of the July 13 attempt to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, including detailed story-telling and sharp analysis that coupled traditional police reporting with audio and visual forensics.
Finalists:
Staff of Associated Press
Staffs of The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C., and The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer
Staff of Associated Press

Staffs of The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C., and The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer

2024

Staff of Lookout Santa Cruz, California

For its detailed and nimble community-focused coverage, over a holiday weekend, of catastrophic flooding and mudslides that displaced thousands of residents and destroyed more than 1,000 homes and businesses.
Finalists:
Staff of the Los Angeles Times
Staff of the Honolulu Civil Beat
Staff of the Los Angeles Times

Staff of the Honolulu Civil Beat

2023

Staff of the Los Angeles Times

For revealing a secretly recorded conversation among city officials that included racist comments, followed by coverage of the rapidly resulting turmoil and deeply reported pieces that delved further into the racial issues affecting local politics.
Finalists:
Josh Gerstein, Alex Ward, Peter S. Canellos, Hailey Fuchs and Heidi Przybyla of Politico
Staff of The New York Times
Josh Gerstein, Alex Ward, Peter S. Canellos, Hailey Fuchs and Heidi Przybyla of Politico

Staff of The New York Times

2022

Staff of the Miami Herald

For its urgent yet sweeping coverage of the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium complex, merging clear and compassionate writing with comprehensive news and accountability reporting.
Finalists:
Staff of the Los Angeles Times
Staff of The New York Times
Staff of the Los Angeles Times

Staff of The New York Times

2021

Staff of the Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minn.

For its urgent, authoritative and nuanced coverage of the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis and of the reverberations that followed.
Finalists:
Helen Branswell, Andrew Joseph and the late Sharon Begley of STAT, Boston, Mass.
Staff of The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.
Helen Branswell, Andrew Joseph and the late Sharon Begley of STAT, Boston, Mass.

Staff of The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.

2020

Staff of The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.

For its rapid coverage of hundreds of last-minute pardons by Kentucky’s governor, showing how the process was marked by opacity, racial disparities and violations of legal norms. (Moved by the jury from Local Reporting, where it was originally entered.)
Finalists:
Staff of the Los Angeles Times
Staff of The Washington Post
Staff of the Los Angeles Times

Staff of The Washington Post

2019

Staff of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

For immersive, compassionate coverage of the massacre at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue that captured the anguish and resilience of a community thrust into grief.
Finalists:
Staff of the South Florida Sun Sentinel
Staff of the Chico Enterprise-Record in collaboration with the Bay Area News Group
Staff of the South Florida Sun Sentinel

Staff of the Chico Enterprise-Record in collaboration with the Bay Area News Group

2018

Staff of The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Calif.

For lucid and tenacious coverage of historic wildfires that ravaged the city of Santa Rosa and Sonoma County, expertly utilizing an array of tools, including photography, video and social media platforms, to bring clarity to its readers — in real time and in subsequent in-depth reporting.
Finalists:
Staff of Houston Chronicle
Staff of The New York Times
Staff of Houston Chronicle

Staff of The New York Times

2017

Staff of East Bay Times, Oakland, CA

For relentless coverage of the “Ghost Ship” fire, which killed 36 people at a warehouse party, and for reporting after the tragedy that exposed the city’s failure to take actions that might have prevented it.
Finalists:
The Dallas Morning News Staff
The Orlando Sentinel Staff
The Dallas Morning News Staff

The Orlando Sentinel Staff

2016

Los Angeles Times Staff

For exceptional reporting, including both local and global perspectives, on the shooting in San Bernardino and the terror investigation that followed.
Finalists:
The Baltimore Sun Staff
The Post and Courier Staff, Charleston, SC
The Baltimore Sun Staff

The Post and Courier Staff, Charleston, SC

2015

The Seattle Times Staff

For its digital account of a landslide that killed 43 people and the impressive follow-up reporting that explored whether the calamity could have been avoided.
Finalists:
Staff of The Buffalo News
Staff of Los Angeles Times
Staff of The Buffalo News

Staff of Los Angeles Times

2014

Staff of The Boston Globe

For its exhaustive and empathetic coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings and the ensuing manhunt that enveloped the city, using photography and a range of digital tools to capture the full impact of the tragedy.
Finalists:
Staff of The Arizona Republic
Staff of The Washington Post
Staff of The Arizona Republic

Staff of The Washington Post

2013

Staff of The Denver Post

For its comprehensive coverage of the mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., that killed 12 and injured 58, using journalistic tools, from Twitter and Facebook to video and written reports, both to capture a breaking story and provide context.
Finalists:
Staff of The Denver Post
Staff of The Hartford Courant
Staff of The Denver Post

Staff of The Hartford Courant

2012

Staff of The Tuscaloosa News

For its enterprising coverage of a deadly tornado, using social media as well as traditional reporting to provide real-time updates, help locate missing people and produce in-depth print accounts even after power disruption forced the paper to publish at another plant 50 miles away.
Finalists:
The Arizona Republic Staff, Phoenix
Staff of the Wisconsin State Journal, Madison
The Arizona Republic Staff, Phoenix

Staff of the Wisconsin State Journal, Madison

Staff of Chicago Tribune

A joint staff entry of The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald

Staff of The Tennessean, Nashville

2010

Staff of The Seattle Times

For its comprehensive coverage, in print and online, of the shooting deaths of four police officers in a coffee house and the 40-hour manhunt for the suspect.
Finalists:
Staff of The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J.
Staff of The Washington Post
Staff of The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J.

Staff of The Washington Post

2009

Staff of The New York Times

For its swift and sweeping coverage of a sex scandal that resulted in the resignation of Gov. Eliot Spitzer, breaking the story on its Web site and then developing it with authoritative, rapid-fire reports.
Finalists:
Staff of Houston Chronicle
Staff of St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Staff of Houston Chronicle

Staff of St. Louis Post-Dispatch

2008

Staff of The Washington Post

For its exceptional, multi-faceted coverage of the deadly shooting rampage at Virginia Tech, telling the developing story in print and online.
Finalists:
Staff of The New York Times
Staff of Idaho Statesman
Staff of The New York Times

Staff of Idaho Statesman

2007

Staff of The Oregonian, Portland

For its skillful and tenacious coverage of a family missing in the Oregon mountains, telling the tragic story both in print and online.
Finalists:
Staff of The Denver Post
Staff of Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY
Staff of The Denver Post
Staff of The Denver Post

Staff of Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY

Staff of The Denver Post

2006

Staff of The Times-Picayune, New Orleans

For its courageous and aggressive coverage of Hurricane Katrina, overcoming desperate conditions facing the city and the newspaper.
Finalists:
Staff of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Staff of South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Staff of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Staff of South Florida Sun-Sentinel

2005

Staff of The Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ

For its comprehensive, clear-headed coverage of the resignation of New Jersey's governor after he announced he was gay and confessed to adultery with a male lover.
Finalists:
Staff of South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Staff of The Charlotte Sun, Charlotte Harbor, FL
Staff of South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Staff of The Charlotte Sun, Charlotte Harbor, FL

2004

Staff of Los Angeles Times

For its compelling and comprehensive coverage of the massive wildfires that imperiled a populated region of southern California.
Finalists:
Staff of The Miami Herald
Staff of Newsday, Long Island, NY
Staff of The Miami Herald

Staff of Newsday, Long Island, NY

2003

Staff of The Eagle-Tribune, Lawrence, MA

For its detailed, well-crafted stories on the accidental drowning of four boys in the Merrimack River.
Finalists:
Staff of The Baltimore Sun
Staff of The Seattle Times
Staff of The Baltimore Sun

Staff of The Seattle Times

2002

Staff of The Wall Street Journal

For its comprehensive and insightful coverage, executed under the most difficult circumstances, of the terrorist attack on New York City, which recounted the day's events and their implications for the future.
Finalists:
Staff of Daily News, New York, NY
Staff of The New York Times
Staff of Daily News, New York, NY

Staff of The New York Times

2001

Staff of The Miami Herald

For its balanced and gripping on-the-scene coverage of the pre-dawn raid by federal agents that took the Cuban boy Elian Gonzalez from his Miami relatives and reunited him with his Cuban father.
Finalists:
Staff of Los Angeles Times Staff
Staff of The Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ
Staff of Los Angeles Times Staff

Staff of The Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ

2000

Staff of The Denver Post

For its clear and balanced coverage of the student massacre at Columbine High School.
Finalists:
Staff of The Oregonian
Staff of Raleigh (NC) News & Observer
Staff of The Oregonian

Staff of Raleigh (NC) News & Observer

1999

Staff of Hartford (CT) Courant

For its clear and detailed coverage of a shooting rampage in which a state lottery worker killed four supervisors then himself.
Finalists:
Staff of The Jonesboro (AR) Sun
Staff of The Miami Herald
Staff of The Jonesboro (AR) Sun

Staff of The Miami Herald

1998

Staff of Los Angeles Times

For its comprehensive coverage of a botched bank robbery and subsequent police shoot-out in North Hollywood.
Finalists:
John Dennis Harrigan of News and Sentinel, a Colebrook, NH weekly
Mike McAlary of Daily News, New York, NY
John Dennis Harrigan of News and Sentinel, a Colebrook, NH weekly

Mike McAlary of Daily News, New York, NY

Public Service
Investigative Reporting