Reuters today was awarded two 2024 Pulitzer Prizes, the most prestigious in journalism, in the Breaking News Photography and National Reporting categories.
The awards, administered by Columbia University, recognized Reuters for a series of iconic photographs documenting the war between Israel and Hamas and for a series of investigations that uncovered systemic harms to customers, workers and lab animals at Elon Musk’s companies.
In Breaking News Photography, Reuters photojournalists Ahmed Zakot, Amir Cohen, Ammar Awad, Evelyn Hockstein, Anas al-Shareef, Ibraheem Abu Mustafa, Mohammed Salem and Ronen Zvulun and freelance journalist Yasser Qudih fearlessly documented the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s retaliatory offensive on Gaza in a series of unforgettable images.
The team maintained a clear-eyed focus under the unrelenting and exhausting pressure of covering the deadliest conflict for journalists in decades. A strong on-the-ground presence and years of planning and preparation in Gaza – detailed safety protocols, solar panels, and stocks of food, water and fuel – helped for the first few weeks of coverage. Eventually, those supplies ran out or were lost during the ground war, but the Gaza team pursued the story with great courage and resourcefulness – at one point transporting their equipment out of the danger zone by donkey cart.
The Pulitzer committee said the nomination won for “raw and urgent photographs documenting the October 7th deadly attack in Israel by Hamas and the first weeks of Israel’s devastating assault on Gaza.”
In National Reporting, Reuters was honored for “The Musk Industrial Complex,” by Marisa Taylor, Steve Stecklow, Norihiko Shirouzu, Hyunjoo Jin, Rachael Levy, Kevin Krolicki, Marie Mannes, Waylon Cunningham and Koh Gui Qing. Their work exposed abuses at Musk companies that regulators had failed to police, sparking investigations in the U.S. and Europe and calls for action from U.S. lawmakers.
As the business world was gripped by the spectacle of Musk’s chaotic management of social media site Twitter in 2023, the Reuters team investigated the billionaire’s manufacturing empire. They documented a rising toll of injuries and deaths of workers at rocket builder SpaceX and of laboratory animals at Neuralink, Musk’s brain-implant company. And they revealed that his groundbreaking electric-car company, Tesla, covered up dangerous defects in steering and suspension parts; rigged driving-range estimates in its cars; invaded drivers’ privacy by sharing sensitive images recorded by their vehicles; and made Tesla Insurance customers wait months for claim payouts.
The Pulitzer committee said it was “an eye-opening series of accountability stories focused on Elon Musk’s automobile and aerospace businesses, stories that displayed remarkable breadth and depth and provoked official probes of his companies’ practices in Europe and the United States.”
“These Pulitzer recognitions showcase some of Reuters’ greatest strengths – urgent, expert, on-the-ground coverage of historic world events as they unfold, and dogged, revelatory and agenda-setting business journalism that serves our global audience and the public interest,” said Reuters Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni.
“Our winning Israel-Gaza coverage was remarkable for the quality, balance and riveting vividness of the photography,” Galloni said. “Crucial to the coverage was the skillful planning and logistics that helped the journalists get the job done and gave them the mental space to focus on the story. But above all, the award is a testament to the photographers’ talent and bravery: They risked their lives daily to bring the horror of this war to light, with many of them losing their homes, family members and friends. I’m incredibly proud of the team’s selfless dedication to telling this historically important story.”
“‘The Musk Industrial Complex’ was a masterful combination of beat reporting and investigative journalism,” said Galloni. “Painstakingly cultivating sources and mining internal and public documents, our auto, health, finance and investigative teams joined forces to reveal a disturbing pattern across the empire of America’s most important tycoon: The companies dismissed concerns and misled regulators about safety or other harms as they rushed to roll out new products, expand sales, or land huge government contracts.”
“I am thrilled to see Reuters recognized by the Pulitzer Board for these two spectacular bodies of work,” added Reuters President Paul Bascobert. “This coverage exemplifies journalists’ vital role in informing the public through their ceaseless pursuit of trusted and impartial journalism, bringing both of these critically important stories to the world.”
“Reporting on world events with accuracy, integrity, independence and freedom from bias is what we stand for at Reuters. Winning a Pulitzer Prize is the ultimate recognition of the commitment that Reuters journalists pursue,” said Steve Hasker, president and CEO of Thomson Reuters. “We are extremely proud of the teams for being recognized with these tremendous honors and congratulate them for their relentless daily work in bringing unmatched news coverage from every corner of the world.”
Media Contact:
Heather Carpenter
Heather.Carpenter @ tr.com