Pulitzer awarded to Denver Post
Paper honored for shooting coverage
NEW YORK – The Denver Post won a Pulitzer Prize on Monday for its coverage of the movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colo., while the New York Times captured four awards for reporting on a harrowing avalanche, the rise of a new aristocracy in China and the business practices of Apple and Wal-Mart.
The Associated Press received the award in breaking news photography for its coverage of the civil war in Syria.
In awards that reflected the rapidly changing media world, the online publication InsideClimate News won the Pulitzer for national reporting for its reports on problems in the regulation of the nation’s oil pipelines.
The Sun Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., received the public service award for an investigation of off-duty police officers’ reckless driving, and longtime Pulitzer powerhouses the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post were recognized for commentary and criticism, respectively.
The Star-Tribune of Minneapolis captured two awards, for local reporting and editorial cartooning.
Cheers erupted in the Denver Post’s newsroom when word came that the newspaper had won the Pulitzer in the breaking news category for its coverage – via text, social media and video – of the shooting that killed 12 people during a midnight showing of a new Batman movie last summer.
The honor was bittersweet for some, and people teared up and shared hugs.
“We are part of this community. The tragedy touches us, but we have a job to do,” said Kevin Dale, the Post’s news director.
The Pulitzers, journalism’s highest honor, are given out each year by Columbia University on the recommendation of a board of journalists and others. Each award carries a $10,000 prize except for the public service award, which is a gold medal.