The Guardian US and the Washington Post shared the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for public service, in recognition of their reporting on the National Security Agency documents leaked by Edward Snowden.
Glenn Greenwald ’94 was instrumental in providing the Guardian’s coverage, which the award committee praised for helping to “spark a debate about the relationship between the government and the public over issues of security and privacy.” Greenwald worked in tandem with others at the Guardian, including documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras and reporter Ewen MacAskill.
The Washington Post’s coverage was led by Barton Gellman. This is his third Pulitzer Prize. From 2011 to 2013 he served as a fellow for the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty and National Security Program and from 2010 to 2011 as a senior research fellow at the Center on Law and Security.
This is by no means the first time these journalists have received accolades. Last week, on April 11, the George Polk Awards honored all four of them for excellence in national security journalism.
On May 20, Greenwald will also receive the 2014 Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award for journalism; established in 1979, the award honors those who “protect and enhance First Amendment rights for all Americans.” At the same ceremony, Norman Dorsen, Frederick I. and Grace A. Stokes Professor of Law, will receive a lifetime achievement award.
In a statement, Snowden praised the Pulitzer Prize committee’s judgment. “This decision reminds us that what no individual conscience can change, a free press can.”
Posted April 18, 2014