Aretha Franklin, Capital Gazette win special Pulitzer Prizes
Aretha Franklin was no stranger to awards during her illustrious and storied career — the singer, who died last August, won 18 Grammys. But now her legacy also includes a Pulitzer Prize.
On Monday, the Pulitzer Prize committee announced its annual list of winners and finalists for awards in journalism and letters, drama, and music. Franklin received a posthumous "special award and citation" for her "indelible contribution to American music and culture for more than five decades."
The Annapolis, Maryland newspaper the Capital Gazette also received a special award for its "courageous response" to a mass shooting in its newsroom that was the largest killing of journalists in United States history, and granted $100,000 from the Pulitzer board "to further the newspaper's journalistic mission." The Capital Gazette and Franklin were the first to receive special awards since singer-songwriter Hank Williams received one in 2010.
In other Pulitzer news, it was a strong year for local journalism as the South Florida Sun Sentinel won the Public Service award for "exposing failings by school and law enforcement officials" before and after the deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette won the Breaking News Reporting category for its work on yet another mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. See the full list of winners here.