Climate Journalism is 'Breaking but Not Broken'

The 2026 Pulitzer Prize announcements happened this week and environmental reporting was in the mix though not central enough if you ask me.

Here’s where it shined: The Breaking News Reporting category was dominated by journalism covering climate-fueled extreme weather. Finalists included staff of the Seattle Times for more than 100 stories covering catastrophic flooding in the Pacific Northwest — work that warned residents in real time and “explained how weather and geography combined to cause the devastation.” A series of atmospheric rivers crushed Western Washington in December and Seattle Times journalists waded through the muck, huddled in shelters, and observed emergency rescues.

Also recognized was staff of the Southern California News Group (Los Angeles Daily News etc.) for coverage of the Eaton and Palisades fires and their “immediate aftermath and accountability-driven analysis.” Staff of the Wall Street Journal were finalists for “comprehensive and compelling reporting” on the deadly Texas flooding at Camp Mystic and the failures and technical errors that led to that tragedy. Missing from the category was staff of the Los Angeles Times for its coverage of the 2025 fires, which was extensive but, as I noted last year, often missed the connection to climate change. Ultimately, the Minnesota Star Tribune won the category for coverage of a mass shooting.