Pittsburgh paper awarded Pulitzer for synagogue massacre coverage
Post-Gazette wins coveted journalism prize for ‘immersive, compassionate coverage’ that captured anguish and resilience of community thrust into grief
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was awarded the 2019 Pulitzer Prize Monday in breaking news reporting for its coverage of the Tree of Life synagogue massacre last October.
Eleven people were shot and killed by a gunman during the rampage, which came as congregants at the synagogue complex in Pittsburgh were gathering for Shabbat morning services.
The prize, the most prestigious in journalism, was awarded to the daily’s entire reporting staff.
The coverage included a front-page headline containing the first four words of the Mourner’s Kaddish prayer in Hebrew letters.
Congratulations to @PittsburghPG. #Pulitzer #TreeOfLife #GunViolence pic.twitter.com/ql27OmI5AB
— pulitzerprizes.bsky.social (@PulitzerPrizes) April 15, 2019
David Shribner, the Post-Gazette’s executive editor, explained the excerpt “from a 10th century prayer might be the appropriate gesture — of respect, of condolence — for a 21st century audience mourning its dead, whether family, friend, congregant, neighbor or, simply, Pittsburgher.”
