Here are some reactions from the photojournalists and their editors who were awarded Pulitzer Prizes in Photography on Monday:
Feature Photography
This year’s winner, Don Bartletti of the Los Angeles Times, shared his thanks via a sat phone from Iraq, where he is on assignment. Colin Crawford, director of photography at the Times, reported that “Don was thrilled and greatly appreciative after receiving the news from (Times editor and VP) John Carroll and he spoke to the newsroom over the speaker-phone.”
“I am thrilled and excited for Don and the paper,” Crawford said. “Don just did an outstanding job and I can’t say enough about his fine work. I think that it’s great, it was just one tremendous effort, support from publisher, the editor on down. This is an example of a huge commitment. This is just a helluva year. We are thrilled. Taking nothing away for the Rocky Mountain News staff [which won the Photography award for news coverage], we wished Carolyn Cole had won, too; her work is truly deserving.
“I cannot recall a year [in his almost 20 with the paper] when we have been recognized so much as a photo staff. Winning a contest is great, but doing great work is more important. We have had some outstanding work by our photographers and that is what it is all about.”
See the LA Times’ winning package. 
The scene in the LA Times newsroom.
Caption: Los Angeles Times director of photography Colin Crawford, left, holds up a picture of photographer Don Bartletti, who won a Pulitzer Prize for feature photography, during a gathering in the Times newsroom, as editor John Carroll, right, applauds. Bartletti currently is covering the war in Iraq. The photo of him was taken as he got the news of his win earlier Monday. (Credit: Francine Orr, LA Times)
A photo from the winning package.
News Photography
According to Janet Reeves, director of photography at the Rocky Mountain News, the mood in the newsroom was “thrilling.” Reeves said of her staff of 19 (15 photographers and four picture editors) and their win for photography of last year’s Colorado wildfires: “This was historic for us. This was not just a house burning; 10 people lost their lives trying to protect the environment. It was a very emotional time. The experience of losing our treasures is sad. Trees for us are like buildings in big cities.
“I am so proud of the work that we produced. It hit home to me one day as I was giving a tour to a group of school kids and their teacher said, ‘I didn’t have to read the paper, I just looked at the pictures.’ I knew that we had done our job well.”
Reeves gave credit to Carolyn Cole’s finalist entry: “I wish that there was some way that her work could have been honored, too; it was such heroic reporting.”
The scene in the Rocky Mountain News newsroom.Caption: Surrounded by members of the photography staff, Randall Roberts, sitting in foreground, presentation director of Denver’s Rocky Mountain News, celebrates as Janet Reeves, photo director, looks over his shoulder as reports come in that the newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize for Photography for its coverage of wildfires in Colorado last summer. (Credit: David Zalubowski, AP)
A photo from the winning package.
