For a distinguished example of reporting on national affairs, using any available journalistic tool, Fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
Staffs of The Marshall Project; AL.com, Birmingham; IndyStar, Indianapolis; and the Invisible Institute, Chicago
For a year-long investigation of K-9 units and the damage that police dogs inflict on Americans, including innocent citizens and police officers, prompting numerous statewide reforms.
Staff members (from left) Ryan Martin of IndyStar, Abbie Van Sickle of The Marshall Project, Challen Stephens of Al.com and Andrew Fan of the Invisible Institute accept the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting from Columbia University President Lee Bollinger. (Jose Lopez/The Pulitzer Prizes)
Winning Work
October 2, 2020
October 15, 2020
October 29, 2020
November 17, 2020
October 13, 2020
December 14, 2020
October 11, 2020
Finalists
Nominated as finalists in National Reporting in 2021:
Staff of The New York Times
For detailed reporting on how the Trump administration consistently failed to respond properly or adequately to the coronavirus threat, including downplaying its seriousness.
Staff of The Wall Street Journal
For its series of stories documenting how nursing home residents were hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic, partially because of improper decisions made by government officials.
The Jury
The Jury
Emilio Garcia-Ruiz(Chair)
Editor in Chief, San Francisco Chronicle
Amanda Becker
Washington Correspondent, The 19th
Samuel P. Jacobs
Deputy Editor, Time
Vernon Loeb
Executive Editor, InsideClimateNews
Ginger Thompson
Chief of Correspondents, ProPublica
Winners in National Reporting
T. Christian Miller, Megan Rose and Robert Faturechi of ProPublica
For their investigation into America’s 7th Fleet after a series of deadly naval accidents in the Pacific.
Staff of The Wall Street Journal
For uncovering President Trump’s secret payoffs to two women during his campaign who claimed to have had affairs with him, and the web of supporters who facilitated the transactions, triggering criminal inquiries and calls for impeachment.
Staffs of The New York Times and The Washington Post
For deeply sourced, relentlessly reported coverage in the public interest that dramatically furthered the nation’s understanding of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its connections to the Trump campaign, the President-elect’s transition team and his eventual administration. (The New York Times entry, submitted in this category, was moved into contention by the Board and then jointly awarded the Prize.)
David A. Fahrenthold
For persistent reporting that created a model for transparent journalism in political campaign coverage while casting doubt on Donald Trump’s assertions of generosity toward charities.
2021 Prize Winners
Robert Greene of the Los Angeles Times
For editorials on policing, bail reform, prisons and mental health that clearly and holistically examined the Los Angeles criminal justice system.
Wesley Morris of The New York Times
For unrelentingly relevant and deeply engaged criticism on the intersection of race and culture in America, written in a singular style, alternately playful and profound.
Michael Paul Williams of the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch
For penetrating and historically insightful columns that guided Richmond, a former capital of the Confederacy, through the painful and complicated process of dismantling the city's monuments to white supremacy.
Nadja Drost, freelance contributor, The California Sunday Magazine
For a brave and gripping account of global migration that documents a group’s journey on foot through the Darién Gap, one of the most dangerous migrant routes in the world.