The Washington Post and The Guardian US have been awarded the most prestigious Pulitzer prize for their coverage on the secret surveillance by the US National Security Agency. They were awarded the prize on Monday for coverage on the secret surveillance which had sparked wide arguments over spying by the government. The Guardian US and The Washington Post won the prize in the Pulitzer's public service category for works which were based on documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Snowden had revealed details of global electronic surveillance by the US spy agency.
Besides, Newsday, Long Island, NY was nominated as a finalist in this category for its use of in-depth reporting and digital tools to expose shootings, beatings and other concealed misconduct by some Long Island police officers, leading to the formation of a grand jury and an official review of police accountability.
The Pulitzers have been bestowed since 1917, at the bequest of the legendary newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer who established the honour in his will as a means of encouraging publicly-spirited journalism.
Awards were given in 21 categories this year.
The Boston Globe received the Pulitzer for breaking for "exhaustive and empathetic" coverage of the Boston marathon bombing.
Jason Szep and Andrew RC Marshall of Reuters awarded the prize for their courageous reports on the violent persecution of the Rohingya, a Muslim minority in Myanmar.
