The Pulitzer Prizes are considered the most prestigious awards in American journalism and recognize work in 15 journalism categories.
POLITICO was first to report on a draft opinion from the Supreme Court that would mark a full-throated repudiation of the 1973 decision which guaranteed federal constitutional protections of abortion rights. Chief Justice John Roberts called the unauthorized release of the draft opinion “a singular and egregious breach” of the court’s trust.
No draft decision in the modern history of the court has been disclosed publicly while a case was still pending.
In January, the Supreme Court released the results of an internal investigation, saying it was unable to determine who disclosed to POLITICO the draft opinion.
Abortion access has rocketed to the center of the national political stage since last year. The overturn of Roe v. Wade stretched nationwide, where abortion bans were triggered in several states. In many parts of the country, the fight over abortion access is still taking place, with other states moving to expand access to abortion since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.
The reporting led to a series of subsequent stories, including the religious right’s efforts to influence the court, Roberts’ diminishing control of the court, justices not revealing spouses’ work from potential conflict of interest disclosures, and more.
POLITICO was this year’s recipient of the George Polk Award for National Reporting for its publication of the draft opinion. The Polk awards, which traditionally focus on investigative and enterprise work, are among the industry’s most prestigious prizes and are often the first to highlight exceptional work done in the United States and across the world.
POLITICO was also the winner of the 2023 Toner Prize for Excellence in National Political Reporting and the Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability from the White House Correspondents’ Association for its reporting on the draft opinion.
POLITICO’s Matt Wuerker won the news organization’s first Pulitzer in 2012 in editorial cartooning for his “consistently fresh, funny cartoons, especially memorable for lampooning the partisan conflict that engulfed Washington.”
The Associated Press won the Public Service award for the work of Mstyslav Chernov, Evgeniy Maloletka, Vasilisa Stepanenko and Lori Hinnant documenting Russia’s siege of Mariupol.
In the opening remarks, Neil Brown, co-chair of the Pulitzer Prize Board, paid tribute to Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, stating that the board joins other organizations in demanding the release of Gershkovich.
The full list of 2023 Pulitzer Prize winners can be found here.