The Anchorage Daily News was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for public service Monday, for “Lawless,” the newspaper’s collaborative investigation with ProPublica that revealed shocking inequities in law enforcement between Alaska’s rural and urban communities.
The “riveting” series, led by reporter Kyle Hopkins, “revealed that a third of Alaska’s villages had no police protection, took authorities to task for decades of neglect, and spurred an influx of money and legislative changes,” the Pulitzer organization said.
The two other finalists were the Washington Post and The New York Times.
The Pulitzer Prize is one of journalism’s highest honors, and the public service category is most coveted in the array of awards bestowed by the organization. Monday marks the third time the ADN has claimed the award, after winning it in 1989 for “People in Peril,” a series on alcoholism and suicide among Alaska Natives, and in 1976 for an exposé on the Teamsters Union.
Hopkins talked to Alaska Public Media’s Casey Grove about “Lawless” and what it was like to win the Pulitzer.
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Nathaniel Herz is an Anchorage-based journalist. He's been a reporter in Alaska for a decade, and is currently reporting for Alaska Public Media. Find more of his work by subscribing to his newsletter, Northern Journal, at natherz.substack.com. Reach him at natherz@gmail.com.
