Kendrick Lamar and The New Yorker received Pulitzers, one of America´s most prestigious awards.
The Pulitzer Prize congratulates and recognizes progress and elevation in journalism.
These prizes, considered the pinnacle of coverage achievements, are administered by Columbia University and awarded annually to diverse media works.
This year, stories regarding the #MeToo movement, abuse in the workplace, the construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall, and the Charleston, S.C. shooting were all considered for such distinction.
A rapper in the Pulitzer history
One of the most interesting issues this year was that Kendrick Lamar´s music for his album “Damn” earned him a Pulitzer recognition. “DAMN” is Kendrick’s fourth studio album, it was released in April 2017.
For years, Kendrick has written and sang on political and social matters that hit near the core of his audience.
While explaining what earned the rapper with the prestigious award, Variety refers to Lamar´s music as “A vast musical progression from the one that came before, but most importantly, his lyrics reflect his upbringing in Los Angeles’ tough Compton area, the black experience in America, hip-hop’s history and legacy, stardom and countless other topics.”
The award is typically given to classical or jazz works, so Kendrick is the first rapper to achieve so. Last year’s prize went to “Angel’s Bone”, an opera by composer Du Yun.
The 2018 winners
Dana Canedy, Pulitzer Administrator, oversaw announcing the 2018 winners on diverse topics. These were:
- The Washington Post for Investigative Reporting about U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore.
- The Arizona Republic and the USA Today Network for Explanatory Reporting about President Trump’s proposed border wall.
- The Cincinnati Enquirer for Local Reporting on its coverage of the heroin epidemic.
- The New York Times and the Washington Post for National Reporting on its coverage of Trump and Russia.
- Reuters for International Reporting on Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and his reported connections to police assassination squads.
- The Press Democrat of Sonoma County, California in Breaking News Reporting for the paper’s coverage of wildfires in the state last fall.
- GQ received the Pulitzer Prize in Feature Writing for a profile of Dylann Roof, who shot and killed nine people at a South Carolina church in 2015.
- The Alabama Media Group for Commentary in columns about Civil War monuments in the state.
- The New York Magazine for Criticism on work by art critic Jerry Saltz.
- The Des Moines Register for Editorial Writing on work related to health care in the state.
- The New York Times received the Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Cartooning.
- The Daily Progress for Breaking News Photography on its coverage of protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.
- Reuters for Feature Photography on coverage of the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar.
