Photography staff of Reuters wins Pulitzer for feature photography

The Pulitzers, the most prestigious awards in American journalism, recognized Reuters for feature photography documenting the Rohingya refugee crisis in Myanmar and Bangladesh.

“In a year in which many Pulitzers were rightly devoted to U.S. domestic matters, we’re proud at Reuters to shine a light on global issues of profound concern and importance,” said Reuters editor in chief Stephen J. Adler.

The Reuters photography staff was honored for images of the violence endured by the Rohingya, a Muslim minority, as they fled Myanmar for Bangladesh.

“The extraordinary photography of the mass exodus of the Rohingya people to Bangladesh demonstrates not only the human cost of conflict, but also the essential role photojournalism can play in revealing it,” Adler said.

Finalists nominated in feature photography included Kevin Frayer, freelance photographer, Getty Images, for profoundly moving and historic pictures that portrayed Rohingya Muslims with dignity and grace as they fled ethnic cleansing in Myanmar; Meridith Kohut, freelance photographer, the New York Times, for wrenching images from the streets, homes and hospitals of Venezuela, where government policies have resulted in widespread malnutrition and starvation of children; and Lisa Krantz of the San Antonio Express-News for intimate, poetic images that captured the vibrant life of a boy born with an incurable, rare disorder, and his physical, spiritual and emotional journey.

The Pulitzer Prize winner in breaking news photography was Ryan Kelly of the Daily Progress of Charlottesville, Va., for a chilling image that reflected the photographer’s reflexes and concentration in capturing the moment of impact of a car attack during a racially charged protest in the city. Ivor Prickett, freelance photographer, the New York Times, was nominated as a finalist for heartbreaking and frightening images that brought a fresh approach to classic war photography and giving an intimate view of the impact on shellshocked survivors of what ISIS left behind in Mosul and Raqqa.

The Pulitzers have been awarded since 1917, after being established in the will of newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer. The 17-member Pulitzer board is made up of past winners and other distinguished journalists and academics.

It chose the winners in 14 journalism categories, as well as seven that recognize fiction, drama, history, biography, poetry, general nonfiction and music. For a full list of winners, click here. (Pulitzer/Reuters)

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