Winners include The Washington Post for Trump assassination attempt coverage, Reuters for its fentanyl exposé, and ProPublica for maternal health reporting.
Columbia University on Monday announced the 2025 Pulitzer Prize winners, honoring journalism that captured a turbulent and consequential year, from the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania to armed conflict and geopolitical unrest around the globe.
Prizes were awarded across 15 journalism categories and 8 in the arts, according to a May 5
announcement. The prestigious Public Service
gold medal went to ProPublica for the second year in a row, while The New York Times led all outlets with four Pulitzers, followed by The New Yorker with three, and The Washington Post with two—including one for its breaking news coverage of the Trump assassination attempt.
The Pulitzer Board
described The Washington Post’s breaking news coverage of the July 13 assassination attempt of then-candidate Trump at a campaign rally in Butler as “urgent and illuminating.” The
piece won praise for combining traditional police reporting with audio and visual forensic analysis, along with detailed storytelling and “sharp” analysis.
The Trump assassination attempt was also the backdrop for a Pulitzer awarded to New York Times photographer Doug Mills, who
won in the Breaking News Photography category for a striking
sequence of images from the same event—including one that captured a bullet midair as it passed near Trump during a campaign rally.
Reuters
won the Investigative Reporting Pulitzer for what was described as a “boldly reported”
exposé detailing how Chinese chemical suppliers and Mexican brokers enable the synthetic opioid crisis in the United States. Reporters revealed that for just $3,600, they were able to legally purchase all the chemicals and equipment needed to make $3 million worth of fentanyl—thanks in part to a since-revoked trade loophole known as the “de minimis” rule to sneak cheap chemicals past customs agents.
Their reporting showed how regulatory failures and diplomatic gridlock have allowed the crisis to spiral, contributing to the deaths of more than 450,000 Americans.
“The ‘Fentanyl Express’ series is a testament to the power of investigative journalism to drive change and hold those in power accountable,” Alessandra Galloni, Reuters editor-in-chief, said in a statement. “I’m incredibly proud of the team for their dedication to telling this important story in unique, rich, and personal detail.”
The New York Times
won Explanatory Reporting for an investigation into U.S. support for violent Afghan militias that ultimately strengthened the Taliban. It also took home International Reporting
honors for a probe into the Sudan conflict, including “chilling” forensic evidence of atrocities and a look at the illicit gold trade fueling the war. The Times also
shared the Local Reporting prize with The Baltimore Banner for a collaborative series on Baltimore’s fentanyl epidemic.
Meanwhile, The New Yorker was recognized in three categories. Contributor Mosab Abu Toha
earned the Commentary prize for deeply personal essays on life in Gaza amid Israel’s war against the Hamas terrorist group. Staff at The New Yorker
won the Audio Reporting prize for their four-year probe into the Haditha massacre, one of the most high-profile crimes of the Iraq War. And photographer Moises Saman
won Feature Photography for “haunting” images of Syria’s Sednaya prison, capturing the legacy of state-sponsored torture.
Ann Telnaes of The Washington Post won the Illustrated Reporting and Commentary Pulitzer for sharp-edged editorial cartoons, which the board
praised for “piercing commentary on powerful people and institutions.” Telnaes
resigned earlier this year, claiming one of her cartoons mocking tech leaders—including Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos—was pulled by editors. The Post disputed her claim, with David Shipley, the newspaper’s editorial page editor, saying that the cartoon was nixed not for nefarious reasons but because it lacked originality.
“Not every editorial judgment is a reflection of a malign force. ... The only bias was against repetition,” Shipley said via the Post’s communications director.
From national crises to international unrest, this year’s Pulitzers highlighted the role reporting plays in helping the public make sense of a complex year.
