The war in Gaza was front-of-mind for the Pulitzer Prize Board this past week. Not only had pro-Palestinian protesters occupied parts of Columbia University — the home of the prizes — but coverage of the war made an appearance in multiple entries.
Coverage of the Israel-Hamas war won Pulitzers, the most prestigious award in journalism, in two categories Monday. The New York Times’ staff won the prize for International Reporting for its coverage of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack against Israel, failures by Israeli intelligence and the Israeli military’s response to the attack. Reuters’ staff won in Breaking News Photography for work documenting the attack and the first few weeks of Israel’s response.
The board also issued a special citation Monday to honor journalists and media workers covering the war in Gaza. Special citations are rare; fewer than 50 have been given since the prizes’ establishment in 1917.
The New York Times’ coverage — which the board called “wide-ranging and revelatory” — included stories revealing that Israel had knowledge of Hamas’ attack plan, a visual investigation into Israel’s bombing of Gaza civilians, and a multimedia account of a massacre in Be’eri, Israel. (A full list of the stories included in the Times’ entry can be found on the Pulitzer Prizes’ website.)
In remarks to The New York Times’ newsroom provided to Poynter, Times executive editor Joe Kahn spoke of the particular challenges in covering the war.
“This war has been more divisive than any other story that I’ve experienced at The Times for, both inside and outside of our newsroom,” he said. “We have had difficult conversations about how best to cover a conflict that offers no neutral vantage point and no natural middle ground. Our journalists have been attacked for their work. The organization as a whole has become a lightning rod for people’s anger and anxiety.
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“It has also been a heartfelt story for many of the people covering it: Some are Muslim, others Jewish. Some speak Arabic, others Hebrew. … This one is personal for so many of us. Those were the challenges. But our response has been to channel that energy into bringing the best journalistic talent to every aspect of covering this war, from investigative work on the causes and failures that led to the conflict, to immersive reporting on the human toll that only our best photo, video and graphics journalists can provide. “
The Times’ entry did not include its Dec. 28 report that purported to find a pattern of sexual violence against women during Hamas’ attack on Israel. The controversial investigation, “Screams Without Words: Sexual Violence on Oct. 7,” has faced intense scrutiny from critics who have questioned its accuracy and reporting process.
The Intercept found that one of the authors of the piece, an Israeli filmmaker without journalism experience, had liked posts on social media calling for Israel to destroy Gaza. Other journalists have found inconsistencies in the piece, and relatives of a woman whose death was cited in the investigation questioned whether she had been sexually assaulted. The Times had to shelve a podcast episode about the investigation due to internal doubts about the story. In an email to Poynter, Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha said that the Times did not shelve the episode, writing that”no piece of journalism is final until published.” She added that the Times and its podcasts continue to cover all aspects of the conflict, including the issue of sexual violence.
The Times has repeatedly defended its reporting, though it did report in March that it had found video footage undercutting an account of sexual assault that had been included in the Dec. 28 story. More than 50 journalism professors have since called on the Times to commission a group of “journalism experts” to conduct an “independent review” of the story.
Reuters’ entry included photos of Israeli and Hamas fighters, Palestinians clutching the bodies of their deceased loved ones and wreckage on both sides. The board praised the organization’s work as “raw and urgent.” Several photos in the entry, including one of the bodies of elderly Israelis strewn outside a bomb shelter, were taken on Oct. 7. At the time, a media advocacy group had baselessly accused Reuters and other outlets of having prior knowledge of the attack. Reuters responded that its photos had come from Gaza-based freelance photographers who were at the border on the morning of Oct. 7.
As they did in 2021 for reporters in Afghanistan and again in 2022 for journalists in Ukraine, the Pulitzer Board honored media workers in Gaza with a special citation. The board noted that an “extraordinary” number of journalists have died while covering the war.
“Under horrific conditions, an extraordinary number of journalists have died in the effort to tell the stories of Palestinians and aid workers in Gaza,” the citation reads. “This war has also claimed the lives of poets and writers among the casualties. As the Pulitzer Prizes honor categories of journalism, arts, and letters, we mark the loss of invaluable records of the human experience.”
As of Friday, more than 97 media workers — 92 Palestinian, 2 Israeli and 3 Lebanese — have been killed since Oct. 7, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. An additional four journalists have been reported missing, and several dozen have been injured or arrested.
The citation follows a March announcement that the Pulitzer Prize Board would give the Committee to Protect Journalists a $50,000 grant to support journalists covering the war in Gaza.
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This story was updated to include a statement from The New York Times.
