Announcement from National Editor Phil Rucker:
We are very happy to announce that Toluse Olorunnipa has won the 2024 Gerald R. Ford Award for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency.
We have long been proud of Tolu’s unique ability to place Biden’s presidency in a historical and social context, lifting his coverage above the day-to-day doings of the White House. The Ford judges agreed, honoring him “for his skill and breadth of vision.”
The judges also said Tolu’s reporting “stood out for its balanced, insightful, historically informed coverage on the presidency.” Across a broad range of topics, they added, “Olorunnipa’s reporting shows consistent strength both in covering the issue of the moment and in giving that moment historical context.”
One of Tolu’s outstanding pieces last year was his look at the country’s lack of a unifying voice in addressing Donald Trump’s trials. On another occasion he shone a light on how the fight over the country’s racial past was dictating the fight for its future. He also scrutinized how the apocalyptic rhetoric unleashed by Biden and Trump ensures that after the 2024 election, half the electorate will believe they have lost the county. And there were many others.
Tolu is the Post’s White House bureau chief, so in addition to his own work, he is instrumental in making sure the operations of our White House team run smoothly. And he is an unfailingly generous and kind colleague.
This is hardly Tolu’s first honor. He won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for “His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice,” his book with fellow Post reporter Robert Samuels.
