New York Times wins Polk Awards for Ukraine coverage, schools investigation

The New York Times took home three George Polk Awards in foreign reporting, photojournalism and education reporting for its coverage in Ukraine and its investigation into private schools in New York.

Long Island University has run the George Polk Awards for more than 70 years and announced the 2022 winners on Monday for 15 different categories. The organization chose from 515 submissions that appeared in print, online, on television or on the radio, according to the website.

The New York Times received the foreign reporting award for its coverage of the war in Ukraine, including its daily reporting on the war as well as two large feature stories called “Putin’s War” and “The Making of Vladimir Putin,” which was written by Roger Cohen. “Putin’s War” was a 13,000-word, two-month-long, in-depth investigation into Russia’s military. “The Making of Vladimir Putin” outlined Putin’s journey over 22 years in 6,750 words.

“We were deluged with so many worthwhile entries it was difficult to choose among them,” said John Darnton, curator of the awards. “Interestingly, a lot of reporters went after large, thematic stories, like the role of private equity companies in buying up hospitals, private homes and apartment complexes. And the war in Ukraine produced superb war reporting, done at great peril.”

The photojournalism award was given to Lynsey Addario of The New York Times for “an iconic photo of the bodies of a woman and her two children alongside a friend who lay dying moments after a mortar struck them as they sought to flee Ukraine,” the website stated. The award description added that Addario pushed to publish this photo even though it had an “intrusive nature,” and also added that she “dove for cover as the shell landed” before taking the photo.

Eliza Shapiro and Brian M. Rosenthal of The New York Times also received the education reporting award for uncovering how New York’s Hasidic Jewish schools, which have received more than $1 billion in government funding over the last four years, were unsuccessful in teaching effective education for their students.

Other award recipients included The Associated Press’s Mstyslav Chernov, Evgeniy Maloletka, Vasilisa Stepanenko and Lori Hinnant for war reporting in Ukraine, as they were the only journalists from a Western news organization to remain in Mariupol, Ukraine, after Russia launched its attacks in the city. The staff of Politico was awarded the national reporting honor for obtaining a draft of the ruling that would later overturn Roe v. Wade.

Reporters from the website AL.com received the local reporting award for exposing how local police forces took advantage of poor town residents to generate more revenue, and Reuters won the state reporting award for revealing how staffing agencies in Alabama used illegal documentation to put children to work in auto factories.

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