Weinstein coverage wins Pulitzer Prize
The New York Times and the New Yorker magazine have shared the honour for public service for their reporting on sexual harassment allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
New York Times staff writers Megan Twohey (left) and Jodi Kantor address colleagues in the newsroom in New York after the team they led won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. Photo: Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times via AP
The reporting revealed “explosive, impactful journalism that exposed powerful and wealthy sexual predators,” the Pulitzer board said.
Reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey shared the Times honour for their report on Weinstein, which triggered a series of similar allegations against influential men in politics, journalism and show business and gave rise to the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements that have encouraged victims to come forward.
The New Yorker’s Ronan Farrow was also recognised for a Weinstein report that detailed the allegations of a woman who reported her accusations to New York police. Authorities have since renewed a criminal investigation of Weinstein.
The Washington Post won the investigative reporting prize for breaking the story that the Alabama US Senate candidate Roy Moore had a history of courting teenage girls.
The Moore report came as stories of men abusing their power over women abounded, contributing to changing public attitudes. Moore, a Republican backed by President Donald Trump, had been favoured to win the special election but lost to Democrat Doug Jones.
The New York Times and the Washington Post shared the honour for national reporting for their coverage of the investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 US presidential election.
Reuters won two Pulitzer Prizes, one for exposing the methods of police killing squads in Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, and one for feature photography documenting the Rohingya migrant crisis between Myanmar and Bangladesh.
The Pulitzers, the most prestigious awards in American journalism, have been awarded since 1917, after being established in the will of newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer.
The 17-member Pulitzer board is made up of past winners and other distinguished journalists and academics.
It chose the winners in 14 journalism categories plus seven that recognise fiction, drama, history, biography, poetry, general nonfiction and music.
Kendrick Lamar became the first rapper to win a Pulitzer Prize, taking the music award for his album “DAMN.”
– Reuters
