I could (and sometimes do) write the same headline each year on the day the Pulitzer Prizes are announced. It’s something like this: This year’s Pulitzer Prizes are a reminder why local news matters. 

And you know what, that’s true again this year.

That very deserving recognition doesn’t solve any of local news’ problems, but for me at least, seeing local newsrooms win for their work refills and refreshes my long list of why it’s so important. 

At the very top – because it makes a place better. Specifically this year, local news did that through making cities safer, holding governments and institutions accountable and protecting voters. 

You can read about all the winners, including a partnership in Illinois, a podcast built on a long reporter-source relationship and a science magazine with a fantastic story.

Congrats to the Tampa Bay Times (which Poynter owns and where I’m a contributor,) The Miami Herald, the Kansas City Star, the Better Government Association and Chicago Tribune, the Houston Chronicle and the Los Angeles Times. And congrats to all the local finalists: the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Los Angeles Times, the Star Tribune, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Palm Beach Post, the Indianapolis Star, WPLN, the Boston Globe, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate, and the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Thanks for reminding us why we’re here. 

Kristen