The Pulitzer Prizes routinely honor lots of journalism from U.S. news centers like New York and Washington, D.C. But in 2023, much of the best work, according to the Pulitzer Board, was set in the 24th most populous state — Alabama.
News, commentary and a book involving Alabama won three Pulitzers Monday and another two finalists were named for coverage in Alabama from out-of-state news outlets.
AL.com Birmingham journalists John Archibald, Ashley Remkus, Ramsey Archibald and Challen Stephens, won the Pulitzer for local reporting for work about a small-town police force that preyed on city residents to generate revenue. Kyle Whitmire, also of AL.com Birmingham, won for commentary for documenting how Alabama’s Confederate history continues to influence the state today.
In the awards for letters, drama and music, Jefferson Cowie’s “Freedom Dominion: A Saga of White Resistance to Federal Power” won the history category for its account of Barbour County, Alabama, illustrating the evolution of white supremacy and drawing connections between anti-government and racist ideologies.
Elizabeth Bruenig of the Atlantic was named a finalist in feature writing for exposing the botched efforts of Alabama to execute inmates, and the efforts by the state to conceal the suffering. Reuters was named a finalist in national reporting for its investigation exposing how two large automakers and a major poultry supplier in Alabama violated child labor laws and exploited undocumented immigrant children.
There’s no clear through line for why all the Alabama attention, other than journalists exposing lots of problems that need solving. None of the stories reflect well on the state, which ranks 44th in U.S. News’ overall state rankings of various categories. But one of the Pulitzer winners, Whitmire, did write a column earlier this year about a happier occasion when Alabama drew some outsized attention — the 2023 Oscars, when some natives scored for the night’s big winner “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
Alabama native Daniel Scheinert, along with his creative partner Daniel Kwan, took home Academy Awards for best picture, best directing and best original screenplay, Whitmire noted, while another Alabama native, Paul Rogers, won for best editing.
Any Alabama Pulitzer connections we missed? Let us know.
More Pulitzer coverage from Poynter
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