Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting

The Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting has been presented since 1998, for a distinguished example of explanatory reporting that illuminates a significant and complex subject, demonstrating mastery of the subject, lucid writing and clear presentation. From 1985 to 1997, it was known as the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism.

The Pulitzer Prize Board announced the new category in November 1984, citing a series of explanatory articles that seven months earlier had won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. The series, "Making It Fly" by Peter Rinearson of The Seattle Times, was a 29,000-word account of the development of the Boeing 757 jetliner. It had been entered in the National Reporting category, but judges moved it to Feature Writing to award it a prize. In the aftermath, the Pulitzer Prize Board said it was creating the new category in part because of the ambiguity about where explanatory accounts such as "Making It Fly" should be recognized. The Pulitzer Committee issues an official citation explaining the reasons for the award.

List of winners for Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism (1985–1997)

Year	Name(s)	Publication	Rationale
1985	Jon Franklin	The Baltimore Sun	"for his seven-part series 'The Mind Fixers', about the new science of molecular psychiatry."
	Rob Orcutt	Wausau Daily Herald	"for a special section on Wausau's growing Indochinese refugee population, the Hmong."
	Pam Sprague
	Staff	Greensboro News and Record	"for its series on the complex role tobacco plays in North Carolina."
1986	Staff	The New York Times	"for a six-part comprehensive series on the Strategic Defense Initiative, which explored the scientific, political and foreign policy issues involved in 'Star Wars.'"
	Larry Batson	The Minnesota Star Tribune	"for his seven-part series on the water crisis in America and his analysis of proposed remedies."
	Robert Cooke	The Atlanta Journal-Constitution	"for their series that examined new developments in genetic engineering and the legal, moral and social ramifications of biotechnology."
	Robert L. Hotz
1987	Peter Gorner	Chicago Tribune	"for their series on the promises of gene therapy, which examined the implications of this revolutionary medical treatment."
	Jeff Lyon
	Leon Dash	The Washington Post	"for his six-part series on teen-age pregnancy, which examined in compelling detail the complex realities behind a national problem."
	Georgia Tasker	Miami Herald	"for her special report on the vanishing rain forest, which detailed the rapid destruction of one of the earth's oldest and most fragile ecosystems."
1988	Daniel Hertzberg	The Wall Street Journal	"for their stories about an investment banker charged with insider trading and the critical day that followed the October 19, 1987 stock market crash."
	James B. Stewart
	Athelia Knight	The Washington Post	"for her account of a year in the life of an urban high school, an in-depth portrait that examined many of the problems facing American education."
	Tim Weiner	The Philadelphia Inquirer	"for his series of reports on a secret Pentagon budget used by the government to sponsor defense research and an arms buildup."
1989	Karen Blessen (artist)	The Dallas Morning News	"for their special report on a 1985 airplane crash, the follow-up investigation, and the implications for air safety."
	David Hanners (reporter)
	William Snyder (photographer)
	David Shaw	Los Angeles Times	"for his candid and thorough reporting on media practices and practitioners."
	Bernard Wysocki Jr.	The Wall Street Journal	"for stories about America's struggle to maintain its technological superiority over international competitors, especially Japan."
1990	Steve Coll	The Washington Post	"for stories scrutinizing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the way it has been affected by the policies of its former chairman, John Shad."
	David A. Vise
	Eric Nalder	The Seattle Times	"for a revealing series about oil-tanker safety and the failure of industry and government to adequately oversee the shipping of oil."
	Staff	The Dallas Morning News	"for a series about five 'hidden wars' being waged around the world, primarily in Third World countries."
	Staff	Daily Times-Advocate	"for its coverage of a shooting spree by a local mail carrier and the subsequent examination of the problems and stress faced by postal service workers."
1991	Susan Faludi	The Wall Street Journal	"for a report on the leveraged buy-out of Safeway Stores, Inc., that revealed the human costs of high finance."
	Peter Gorner	Chicago Tribune	"for their series about the promises and quandaries of genetic research."
	Ronald Kotulak
	Charles A. Hite	The Roanoke Times	"for insightful stories about life-and-death decisions at a local intensive care unit."
1992	Eric Lipton	Hartford Courant	"for a series about the flawed Hubble Space Telescope that illustrated many of the problems plaguing USA's space program."
	Robert S. Capers
	Andrew Boyd	The Times-Picayune	"for 'Louisiana in Peril,' articles about the toxic waste and pollution that threaten the future of the state."
	James O'Byrne
	Mark Schleifstein
	Rob Carson	The News Tribune	"for comprehensive coverage of a controversial and ultimately unsuccessful special initiative on the state's 1991 ballot that would have granted terminally ill individuals the right to have a physician end their lives."
	Suki Dardarian
	Geff Hinds
1993	Mike Toner	The Atlanta Journal-Constitution	"for 'When Bugs Fight Back', a series that explored the diminishing effectiveness of antibiotics and pesticides."
	Dennis Farney	The Wall Street Journal	"for 'The American Civilization,' a series of articles examining Jeffersonian ideals in contemporary America."
	Staff	The Post-Standard	"for its series about the inadequate medical care given New York state prison inmates."
1994	Ronald Kotulak	Chicago Tribune	"for his lucid coverage of current developments in neurological science."
	Staff	The Dallas Morning News	"for its series examining the epidemic of violence against women in many nations."
	Staff	Newsday	"for its exhaustive investigation of breast cancer in the community, which included a probe of the environmental factors that may contribute to its spread."
1995	Leon Dash (staff writer)	The Washington Post	"for their profile of a District of Columbia family's struggle with destructive cycles of poverty, illiteracy, crime and drug abuse."
	Lucian Perkins (photographer)
	Ron Suskind	The Wall Street Journal	"for his stories about inner-city honor students in Washington, D.C. and their determination to survive and prosper."
	Staff	Montgomery Advertiser	"for its probe of questionable management practices and self-interest at the Southern Poverty Law Center, the nation's best-endowed civil rights charity."
1996	Laurie Garrett	Newsday	"for her courageous reporting from Zaire on the Ebola virus outbreak there."
	Adam Bryant	The New York Times	"for their coverage of deficient safety regulation of commuter air traffic."
	Stephen Engelberg
	Matthew L. Wald
	Michael Hiltzik	Los Angeles Times	"for reporting on problems stemming from the lack of regulation in California's booming managed health care industry and the implications for the rest of the country."
	Barbara Marsh
	David R. Olmos
	Chris Lester	The Kansas City Star	"for their series on the impact of spreading suburban growth."
	Jeffrey Spivak
1997	Ron Cortes (photographer)	The Philadelphia Inquirer	"for a series on the choices that confronted critically ill patients who sought to die with dignity."
	April Saul (photographer)
	Michael Vitez (reporter)
	John Crewdson	Chicago Tribune	"for a series of reports that illustrated through dramatic examples the need for training of personnel and installation of special equipment by U.S. airlines to cope with medical emergencies in the air."
	Gregory Kane	The Baltimore Sun	"for their portrait of the complex practices of slavery in the Sudan."
	Gilbert Lewthwaite

List of winners for Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting (1998–present)

Year	Name(s)	Publication	Rationale
1998	Paul Salopek	Chicago Tribune	"for his enlightening profile of the Human Genome Diversity Project, which seeks to chart the genetic relationship among all people."
	David Barstow	St. Petersburg Times	"for his narrative portrait of the legal struggle against the tobacco industry, centered on the personalities who were key in reaching a tentative settlement of billions of dollars."
	Linda Greenhouse	The New York Times	"for her consistently illuminating coverage of the United States Supreme Court."
1999	Richard Read	The Oregonian	"for vividly illustrating the domestic impact of the Asian economic crisis by profiling the local industry that exports frozen french fries."
	Tom Brune	The Seattle Times	"for his revealing analysis of the Washington state initiative on affirmative action that challenged accepted notions about practices that had been in place for three decades."
	William Carlsen	San Francisco Chronicle	"for their compelling series chronicling the epidemic of health risks associated with the reckless use of unsafe hypodermic needles."
	Reynolds Holding
2000	Eric Newhouse	Great Falls Tribune	"for his vivid examination of alcohol abuse and the problems it creates in the community."
2001	Staff	Chicago Tribune	"for 'Gateway to Gridlock,' its clear and compelling profile of the chaotic American air traffic system."
2002	Staff	The New York Times	"for its informed and detailed reporting, before and after the September 11th attacks on the USA, that profiled the global terrorism network and the threats it posed."
2003	Staff	The Wall Street Journal	"for its clear, concise and comprehensive stories that illuminated the roots, significance and impact of corporate scandals in the US."
2004	Thomas M. Burton	The Wall Street Journal	"for their groundbreaking examination of aneurysms, an often overlooked medical condition that kills thousands of Americans each year."
	Kevin Helliker
2005	Gareth Cook	The Boston Globe	"for explaining, with clarity and humanity, the complex scientific and ethical dimensions of stem cell research."
2006	David Finkel	The Washington Post	"for his ambitious, clear-eyed case study of the United States government's attempt to bring democracy to Yemen."
2007	Usha Lee McFarling	Los Angeles Times	"for their richly portrayed reports on the world's distressed oceans, telling the story in print and online, and stirring reaction among readers and officials."
	Rick Loomis
	Kenneth R. Weiss
2008	Amy Harmon	The New York Times	"for her striking examination of the dilemmas and ethical issues that accompany DNA testing, using human stories to sharpen her reports."
2009	Bettina Boxall	Los Angeles Times	"for their fresh and painstaking exploration into the cost and effectiveness of attempts to combat the growing menace of wildfires across the western United States."
	Julie Cart
2010	Michael Moss	The New York Times	"for relentless reporting on contaminated hamburger and other food safety issues that, in print and online, spotlighted defects in federal regulation and led to improved practices.."
	Staff
2011	Kathleen Gallagher	Milwaukee Journal Sentinel	"for their lucid examination of an epic effort to use genetic technology to save a 4-year-old boy imperiled by a mysterious disease, told with words, graphics, videos and other images."
	Mark Johnson
	Gary Porter
	Lou Saldivar
	Alison Sherwood
2012	David Kocieniewski	The New York Times	"for his lucid series that penetrated a legal thicket to explain how the nation's wealthiest citizens and corporations often exploited loopholes and avoided taxes."
2013	Staff	The New York Times	"for its penetrating look into business practices by Apple and other technology companies that illustrates the darker side of a changing global economy for workers and consumers."
2014	Eli Saslow	The Washington Post	"for his unsettling and nuanced reporting on the prevalence of food stamps in post-recession US, forcing readers to grapple with issues of poverty and dependency."
2015	Zachary Mider	Bloomberg News	"for a painstaking, clear and entertaining explanation of how so many U.S. corporations dodge taxes and why lawmakers and regulators have a hard time stopping them."
2016	Ken Armstrong	The Marshall Project	"for a startling examination and exposé of law enforcement's enduring failures to investigate reports of rape properly and to comprehend the traumatic effects on its victims."
	T. Christian Miller	ProPublica
2017	Staff	International Consortium of Investigative Journalists	"for the Panama Papers, a series of stories using a collaboration of more than 300 reporters on six continents to expose the hidden infrastructure and global scale of offshore tax havens."
	Staff	McClatchy
	Staff	Miami Herald
2018	Staff	The Arizona Republic	"for vivid and timely reporting that masterfully combined text, video, podcasts and virtual reality to examine, from multiple perspectives, the difficulties and unintended consequences of fulfilling President Trump's pledge to construct a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico."
	Staff	USA Today
2019	David Barstow	The New York Times	"for an exhaustive 18-month investigation of President Donald Trump's finances that debunked his claims of self-made wealth and revealed a business empire riddled with tax dodges."
	Russ Buettner
	Susanne Craig
2020	Staff	The Washington Post	"for a groundbreaking series that showed with scientific clarity the dire effects of extreme temperatures on the planet."
2021	Jackie Botts	Reuters	"for an exhaustive examination, powered by a pioneering data analysis of U.S. federal court cases, of the obscure legal doctrine of 'qualified immunity' and how it shields police who use excessive force from prosecution."
	Andrew Chung
	Jaimi Dowdell
	Lawrence Hurley
	Andrea Januta
	Ed Yong	The Atlantic	"for a series of lucid, definitive pieces on the COVID-19 pandemic that anticipated the course of the disease, synthesized the complex challenges the country faced, illuminated the U.S. government's failures and provided clear and accessible context for the scientific and human challenges it posed."
2022	Natalie Wolchover	Quanta Magazine	"for coverage that revealed the complexities of building the James Webb Space Telescope, designed to facilitate groundbreaking astronomical and cosmological research."
	Staff
2023	Caitlin Dickerson	The Atlantic	"for deeply reported and compelling accounting of the Trump administration policy that forcefully separated migrant children from their parents, resulting in abuses that have persisted under the current administration."
2024	Sarah Stillman	The New Yorker	"for a searing indictment of our legal system's reliance on the felony murder charge and its disparate consequences, often devastating for communities of color."

See also

• List of journalism awards

External links

• Winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting
• Winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism