Advertisement

Times Photojournalist Marcus Yam Wins Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography

Los Angeles Times foreign correspondent and photojournalist, Marcus Yam
(Nabih Bulos/Los Angeles Times)

Times Staff Recognized as Finalist in Breaking News for Coverage of Fatal Shooting on “Rust” Film Set

Share

The Los Angeles Times has won its 49th Pulitzer Prize and been recognized as a finalist this year in the prestigious journalism competition, the board announced this week.

Marcus Yam has won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography for “raw and urgent images of the U.S. departure from Afghanistan that capture the human cost of the historic change in the country.”

Yam arrived in Afghanistan on Aug. 14, 2021, and was on the ground as both a photojournalist and foreign correspondent. He documented the United States’ withdrawal from a 20-year occupation of the country, the takeover of the Taliban regime and the resulting humanitarian crisis, which is ongoing. Times Executive Director of Photography Calvin Hom wrote about Yam’s work in Afghanistan alongside a portfolio of the award-winning photography.

Advertisement

In an interview with “KTLA Morning News,” Yam said that he shared the award with the Afghan people.

L.A. Times photographer Marcus Yam speaks with KTLA after Pulitzer Prize win

In addition, The Times staff was recognized as a finalist in the Breaking News category for “deeply sourced and detailed reporting about a fatal shooting on the set of the film ‘Rust’ that moved beyond the day’s events to a larger consideration of labor and safety concerns in the film industry.”

The coverage of “Rust” was led by the Entertainment and Company Town teams and spanned almost every department in the newsroom. Reporting from Meg James, Amy Kaufman, Josh Rottenberg, Julia Wick, Anousha Sakoui, Matt Stiles, Wendy Lee, Ryan Faughnder and Jenny Jarvie, who worked with dozens of colleagues to swarm the story, relied on a deep understanding of how Hollywood works and leveraged expertise from a wide range of editorial staff to continue breaking news and explain what was happening and why it mattered.

James, Kaufman, Sakoui and Wick were featured in “The Deadly Take,” an ABC 20/20 news special examining the shooting.

The complete list of Pulitzer Prize winners and finalists is available at pulitzer.org. The list of Pulitzer Prizes won by the Los Angeles Times is at latimes.com/pulitzers.

Advertisement