The Pulitzer Prizes I May 6, 2024
The 108th class of Pulitzer Prizes winners announced today that The Tennessean, a USA TODAY Network publication was named a 2024 Pulitzer finalist for the Breaking News Photography category.
Photojournalist Nicole S. Hester’s compelling image of a child weeping while on the bus was captured on March 27, 2023. The child was on a bus leaving The Covenant School, in Nashville, Tenn., following a mass shooting at the school.
“This was an unspeakable tragedy for our community and continues to pierce our hearts and devastate so many of our neighbors,” said Michael A. Anastasi, Vice President and Editor of The Tennessean. “As journalists, it is our responsibility, our sacred duty really, to ensure our community, and in this case the nation, knows and understands what happened here. This terrible story did not end on the day of the shooting — it continued in the days, weeks and months that followed. It continues today. And The Tennessean will not waver in its responsibility to own this story in the future.”
The Pulitzer Prizes, administered by Columbia University, are the most prestigious journalism awards in the country.
“My sincere congratulations to Nicole, The Tennessean and the extraordinary photojournalism recognized today in the face of such tragedy,” said Michael Reed, Gannett Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Our entire team across the USA TODAY Network is dedicated to service journalism and serving our communities every day, under tremendous circumstances, and I could not be prouder.”
It is the fourth time The Tennessean has been a Pulitzer finalist, the last most recently in 2011 for its coverage of the historic Nashville flood. The 117-year-old news organization, first published in Nashville on May 7, 1907, has won three Pulitzers, the last for investigative reporting in 1986.
“This Pulitzer finalist recognition reinforces the essential value of photojournalism in our daily lives,” said Kristin Roberts, Gannett Chief Content Officer. “Our independent reporting delivers tremendous impact in communities around the country, and we are honored to tell their stories.”
This award marks five Pulitzer Prize winners and ten finalists awarded to Gannett journalists in the last eight years. Gannett has been honored with 97 Pulitzer Prizes in total.
