Pulitzer-winning Surfside collapse coverage shows the importance of covering our community
It was a day that South Florida residents will never forget: June 24, 2021.
Before the sun rose, our journalists were at the catastrophic scene of the Champlain Towers South collapse. The story they wrote that first day would ultimately be updated more than 100 times, and that was only the beginning of the Miami Herald’s relentless coverage of one of the most horrific tragedies to ever befall this community — our community.
One headline at a time, our journalists kept digging to tell the stories that mattered: stories on the victims and their families, stories on why the building fell, stories that answered all the questions on the minds of our South Florida residents. The tragedy in Surfside wasn’t just any story, it was our community, our story.
On Monday, the Miami Herald’s breaking news coverage of Surfside was honored with the highest honor in journalism, the Pulitzer Prize.
In the last few weeks, Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald journalists have been honored with some of the industry’s most prestigious awards. Their work has been recognized for holding officials accountable, for exposing problems, highlighting solutions and changing lives.
I could not be more proud of this recognition and the journalists of our newsroom. You should be proud too, because they do it for you. It’s our public service to you.
With Surfside, our journalists rose to meet the challenge of covering a tragedy that left our community hurting. We poured our hearts into the breaking news and ongoing daily coverage, and launched investigative coverage that continues even today.
We took to heart our mission to inform a community that depended on us for answers, and we were tireless in covering the news and delivering context, insights and information available nowhere else. Receiving this prestigious award shows the power and impact of local journalism.
We appreciate the honor, but our work will not stop. To this day, the Miami Herald continues to seek answers and hold officials accountable in our search for what went wrong, and how another such tragedy can be prevented.
When Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava heard about the award she told me that the Miami Herald had given voice to the whole community.
“This was a truly global story that was covered around the world but the Herald brought unique heart and depth with their skillful, compassionate, committed reporting — a testament to the essential role that local hometown papers can play in their communities.”
I couldn’t agree more and I hope you feel the impact of the stories we write, in the images and videos we produce and all the issues we cover for our community.
If you haven’t already, please consider subscribing to the Miami Herald.
And for those of you who already do, thank you!
I am honored to work for the Miami Herald and even more honored to serve you.
This story was originally published May 9, 2022 at 7:03 PM.