New York, (EFEUSA) .- Journalism denouncing the irregularities of US President Donald Trump, and the devastating effects of the shootings in that country took a special mention at this year’s prestigious Pulitzer Prizes , as well as the work of a lifetime of the iconic Aretha Franklin.
Awarded by the Columbia University of New York, the institution, which awards 14 journalistic awards and another 7 in the world of literature and music, first recognized two local newspapers for their elaborate and compassionate coverage of two of the killings that took place. in US territory in 2018.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel was awarded with one of the most outstanding Pulitzer, which recognizes the public service provided by a media, in this case for its informative work in coverage of the killing of the educational center of Parkland (Florida), where 17 people died in February 2018.
The administrator of the Pulitzer, Dana Canedy, announced in a press conference that this newspaper deserves the award for “exposing the failures of the school and the members of the security forces before and after the shooting.”
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, meanwhile, received the Pulitzer breaking news for its work on the massacre at a synagogue in Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), where 11 people died last October, and applauded its “in-depth coverage and compassionate “with which they managed” to reflect the anguish and resilience of a community seized by pain “.
Canedy also wanted to make a special mention to the Eagle Eye student newspaper of the Parkland Institute, which did not win a prize but was applauded for the obituaries of the 17 people who died in the shooting of the school.
There was also special mention for the journalists of the Capital Gazette, of Annapolis (Maryland), where there was a shooting in June 2018 carried out by a man as revenge for an article published about him, which left 5 dead reporters.
Also, in his speech he paid tribute to the journalist of the Washington Post assassinated in the Saudi embassy of Istanbul, Jamal Khashoggi, and stressed that in total, in 2018, 63 reporters lost their lives, according to figures from Reporters Without Borders.
The Pulitzer also revolved around the research work that has carried out several media references on the controversial President Trump, which have uncovered scandals related to the financial empire and the electoral campaign of the president.
According to the jury, the New York Times investigations, led by journalists David Barstow, Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner, were awarded “for an exhaustive 18-month investigation into Trump’s finances that denied his claims that he had achieved his wealth by himself and that showed (the reality) of a business empire plagued by tax evasions. “
For its part, the Wall Street Journal was awarded to discover the secret payments of Trump during his election campaign to two women who claimed to have maintained relations with him, as well as the people who mediated in the exchange, which led to the opening of a judicial process.
The research was directed by Michael Siconolfi, Ashby Jones and Jennifer Forsyth.
In other categories, the American news agency Associated Press (AP) was awarded in the category of international journalism for coverage of the Yemen war of its reporters Maggie Michael, Maad al-Zikry and Nariman El-Mofty, while the agency British newspaper Reuters received the same award for its work on the persecution of the Rohingya of Myanmar.
On the other hand, the Washington Post was rewarded for its criticism, the New York Times for its editorials and the Saint Louis Post Dispatch for its comments.
Outside of the journalistic category, the legendary Aretha Franklin, the “queen of soul”, was honored with a special Pulitzer Prize for her contribution to the world of music and the arts.
The singer of “Respect” thus became the first woman to receive a special mention to her person since this category of award was given for the first time in 1930. (EFE)
