Reuters, Guardian US, Washington Post, Boston Globe win Pulitzer prizes

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Reuters won a Pulitzer Prize on Monday for international reporting on the violent persecution of a Muslim minority in Myanmar, the Pulitzer Prize Board at Columbia University announced.

The board commended Jason Szep and Andrew Marshall of Reuters for their “courageous reports” on the Rohingya, who in their efforts to flee the Southeast Asian country, often fall victim to predatory human-trafficking networks.

The Guardian US and Washington Post were each awarded the Pulitzer Prize for public service for their coverage of secret surveillance by the U.S. National Security Agency. Their reporting was based on documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who revealed details of global electronic surveillance by the U.S. spy agency.

The board said aggressive reporting by the Guardian US helped to spark debate about the relationship between the U.S. government and the public over issues of security and privacy and that the Post’s reporting helped the public understand how the disclosures fit into a larger framework of national security.

The Boston Globe won for its breaking news coverage of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the ensuing manhunt.

The prestigious prizes, awarded by Columbia University, are given in 14 categories of journalism as well as drama, music, poetry and books. Named after journalist and publisher Joseph Pulitzer, who left money to establish the Columbia Journalism School, the awards are decided by a 19-member panel of editors, news executives and academics.

The Pulitzer Prizes can bring badly needed attention and recognition to newspapers and websites competing for readers in a fragmented media industry, where many are suffering from economic pressures and budget constraints.

(Editing by Scott Malone, G Crosse)

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