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The Pulitzer Prizes

Joseph Pulitzer    •    Pulitzers by year Pulitzer winners

Journalism:

Public Service Breaking News Reporting Investigative Reporting Explanatory Reporting Local Reporting National Reporting International Reporting Feature Writing Commentary Criticism Editorial Writing Editorial Cartooning Breaking News Photography Feature Photography

Letters and drama:

Fiction Drama History Poetry General Non-Fiction

Other prizes:

Music Special Citations and Awards

The Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting has been presented since 1998, for a distinguished example of explanatory reporting that illuminates a significant and complex subject, demonstrating mastery of the subject, lucid writing and clear presentation. From 1985 to 1997, it was known as the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism.

The Pulitzer Prize Board announced the new category of in November of 1984, citing a series of explanatory articles that seven months earlier had won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. The series, "Making It Fly" by Peter Rinearson of the Seattle Times, was a 29,000-word account of the development of the Boeing 757 jetliner. It had been entered in the National Reporting category, but judges moved it to Feature Writing to award it a prize. In the aftermath, the Pulitzer Prize Board said it was creating the new category in part because of the ambiguity about where explanatory accounts such as "Making It Fly" should be recognized.

• 1985: Jon Franklin, Baltimore Evening Sun, for his seven-part series "The Mind Fixers," about the new science of molecular psychiatry.
• 1986: Staff of the New York Times, for a six-part comprehensive series on the Strategic Defense Initiative, which explored the scientific, political and foreign policy issues involved in "Star Wars."
• 1987: Jeff Lyon and Peter Gorner, Chicago Tribune. for their series on the promises of gene therapy, which examined the implications of this revolutionary medical treatment.
• 1988: Daniel Hertzberg and James B. Stewart, Wall Street Journal, for their stories about an investment banker charged with insider trading and the critical day that followed the October 19, 1987 Black Monday stock market crash.
• 1989: David Hanners, reporter, William Snyder, photographer, and Karen Blessen, artist, The Dallas Morning News, for their special report on a 1985 airplane crash, the follow-up investigation, and the implications for air safety.
• 1990: David A. Vise and Steve Coll, Washington Post, for stories scrutinizing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the way it has been affected by the policies of its former chairman, John Shad.
• 1991: Susan C. Faludi, Wall Street Journal, for a report on the leveraged buy-out of Safeway Stores, Inc., that revealed the human costs of high finance.
• 1992: Robert S. Capers and Eric Lipton, Hartford Courant, for a series about the flawed Hubble Space Telescope that illustrated many of the problems plaguing America's space program.
• 1993: Mike Toner, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, for "When Bugs Fight Back," a series that explored the diminishing effectiveness of antibiotics and pesticides.
• 1994: Ronald Kotulak, Chicago Tribune, for his lucid coverage of current developments in neurological science.
• 1995: Leon Dash, staff writer, and Lucian Perkins, photographer, Washington Post, for their profile of a District of Columbia family's struggle with destructive cycles of poverty, illiteracy, crime and drug abuse.
• 1996: Laurie Garrett, Newsday, Long Island, N.Y., for her courageous reporting from Zaire on the Ebola virus outbreak there. (The winner was entered and nominated in the International Reporting category and was moved by the Pulitzer Prize Board to Explanatory Journalism.)
• 1997: Michael Vitez, reporter, and April Saul and Ron Cortes, photographers of The Philadelphia Inquirer, for a series on the choices that confronted critically-ill patients who sought to die with dignity.

• 1998: Paul Salopek, Chicago Tribune, for his enlightening profile of the Human Genome Diversity Project, which seeks to chart the genetic relationship among all people.
• 1999: Richard Read, The Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), for vividly illustrating the domestic impact of the Asian economic crisis by profiling the local industry that exports frozen french fries.
• 2000: Eric Newhouse, Great Falls Tribune (Great Falls, Montana), for his vivid examination of alcohol abuse and the problems it creates in the community.
• 2001: Staff of the Chicago Tribune, for "Gateway to Gridlock," its clear and compelling profile of the chaotic American air traffic system.
• 2002: Staff of The New York Times, for its informed and detailed reporting, before and after the September 11th attacks on America, that profiled the global terrorism network and the threats it posed.
• 2003: Staff of the Wall Street Journal, for its clear, concise and comprehensive stories that illuminated the roots, significance and impact of corporate scandals in America. This was originally nominated in the Public Service category, but was moved by the jury.
• 2004: Kevin Helliker and Thomas M. Burton, Wall Street Journal, for their groundbreaking examination of aneurysms, an often overlooked medical condition that kills thousands of Americans each year.
• 2005: Gareth Cook, Boston Globe, for explaining, with clarity and humanity, the complex scientific and ethical dimensions of stem cell research.
• 2006: David Finkel, Washington Post, for his ambitious, clear-eyed case study of the United States government’s attempt to bring democracy to Yemen.
• 2007: Kenneth R. Weiss, Usha Lee McFarling and Rick Loomis of the Los Angeles Times, for their richly portrayed reports on the world's distressed oceans, telling the story in print and online, and stirring reaction among readers and officials.

• Winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting winners
• Winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism