WASHINGTON, April 15 (RIA Novosti) – Secret documents leaked by former US intelligence employee Edward Snowden have won journalists of The Guardian and The Washington Post the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for public service.
Judges for the prizes for outstanding work in journalism concluded the series of articles on the work of the National Security Agency (NSA) published by The Washington Post “helped the public understand how the disclosures fit into the larger framework of national security.”
American journalists of Britain’s Guardian newspaper, working on the topic of NSA surveillance activities and information gathering, were able “to spark a debate about the relationship between the government and the public over issues of security and privacy,” the Pulitzer judges said in a statement.
Both publications based their articles on the information received last summer from Edward Snowden, who received temporary asylum in Russia after being condemned by the US for disclosing classified information.
The winning nomination spurred heated public debate, because the source was a controversial whistleblower, and due to the polarized public response to the NSA scandal.
The Boston Globe team won the award for breaking news for the reports on the terrorist attack at the Boston Marathon in April 2013.
The Boston tragedy also earned Josh Haner of The New York Times an award for feature photography. The jury praised his series of photographs of one of the blast survivors who ultimately had both his legs amputated.
The Breaking News photography nomination went to Tyler Hicks, Haner’s colleague from The New York Times, for a photo of a terrorist attack in a Kenyan shopping mall.
The Pulitzer Prize is one of the most prestigious awards of the United States. It is awarded for outstanding achievements in the field of journalism, literary work, music and theater. The prize is awarded annually by the Trustees of Columbia University on the recommendations of the Council for the Pulitzer Prize. The award ceremony is held by the School of Journalism at Columbia University.
