Come sappiamo il premio Pulitzer è considerato negli Stati Uniti la maggiore onorificenza nazionale di settore, istituito dal giornalista ungherese-americano e magnate della stampa statunitense Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911).
I premi per la fotografia sono due: Breaking News Photography e Feature Photography.
Le immagini vincitrici sono forti, crude e difficili da accettare. Il portfolio Beaking News coglie l’attimo, mentre il portfolio Feature racconta una storia.
Il premio Breaking News Photography è stato assegnato a Tyler Hicks del New York Times, per le sue immagini scattate durante gli attentati nel centro commerciale di Nairobi, in Kenya, dove per caso si era trovato quel giorno. Il bilancio: 59 morti e 175 feriti. Hicks ha commentato: «Lo dedico a tutti i fotografi che ancora oggi rischiano la vita»
A woman tried to shelter children from gunfire by Somali militants at the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya, in an attack that killed more than 70 people. Tyler Hicks made this photo from a floor above, in an exposed area where the police feared for his safety. (Tyler Hicks, The New York Times – September 23, 2013)
Plainclothes officers rushed into the mall and Hicks accompanied them, knowing well that many terrorists remained inside and fearing not only guns but explosives around every corner. (Tyler Hicks, The New York Times – September 22, 2013)
A victim lay at the feet of the statue of an elephant that was the mall’s mascot. Hicks managed only a few pictures before being hurried away by the police. (Tyler Hicks, The New York Times – September 21, 2013)
Inside, soldiers searched for militants in stores where Hicks and many other expatriates regularly shopped. (Tyler Hicks, The New York Times – September 27, 2013)
In a hastily abandoned cafe, soldiers and security officers tried to isolate the attackers and herd civilians to safety. They found many bodies in stores. (Tyler Hicks, The New York Times – September 21, 2013)
Escaping shoppers had to pass shattered windows and bodies. (Tyler Hicks, The New York Times – September 21, 2013)
Il premio Feature Photography è invece stato assegnato a Josh Haner del New York Times, per il suo servizio sulle vittime dell’attentato della maratona, a Boston. Haner ha scelto di raccontare la storia di Jeff Bauman, accorso alla maratona di Boston per sostenere la sua fidanzata, una maratoneta. Il bilancio: 3 morti e 175 feriti.
Jeff Bauman rests during occupational therapy at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital less than a month after having his lower legs blown off in the first of two pressure cooker bombs that exploded at the Boston Marathon. (Josh Haner, The New York Times – May 8, 2013)
With his strength and balance improving, Bauman no longer needed a slide board (in back of his wheelchair) to move from the chair to his therapy mat at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. (Josh Haner, The New York Times – May 7, 2013)
Bauman shares a joke with his girlfriend Erin Hurley at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. He had been at the marathon finish line waiting for her to complete the race when the bombs went off. (Josh Haner, The New York Times – May 8, 2013)
Bauman’s not-quite-finished prosthetic legs with their size-10.5 sneakers. (Josh Haner, The New York Times – May 31, 2013)
At a final fitting for his prosthetic legs, Bauman walked on his own for the first time since the day of the marathon. His girlfriend Erin, looked at him and said, ‘I love that you’re standing right now,’ before coming around to steady him and kiss him. (Josh Haner, The New York Times – May 31, 2013)
Bauman underwent physical therapy. His left leg was much weaker than his right, which made it more challenging. (Josh Haner, The New York Times – June 26, 2013)
