Pulitzer Center Update December 16, 2024
Freelancer Hyury Potter Wins 2024 Pulitzer Center Breakthrough Award
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The Pulitzer Center is pleased to announce that Brazil-based freelance journalist Hyury Potter has been chosen as the 2024 winner of the Pulitzer Center's annual Breakthrough Journalism Award. Hugh Kinsella Cunningham, a freelance journalist based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has been named the runner-up.
The Breakthrough Award, which carries a top prize of $12,000, was established in 2020 with generous support from Eva Lohrer. This award celebrates the achievements of freelance journalists affiliated with the Pulitzer Center who report on underreported issues. The runner-up receives $5,000.
Potter expressed his gratitude to those he has reported on.
“I would like to dedicate this award to all the sources, Indigenous and community leaders, researchers, and environmental agents of the Amazon who at some point trusted me and shared important information that became the foundation for my journalistic investigations.”
Potter, who was born and raised in the Amazon region, is a freelance reporter who covers corruption and environmental issues in the Amazon. He lives in Florianópolis, Brazil. Potter created the award-winning Mined Amazon project, a real-time map tracking illegal mining requests on Indigenous lands. As a Rainforest Investigations Network Fellow, Potter used machine learning and satellite imagery to uncover illegal mining activities and clandestine airfields in the Amazon, collaborating with computer scientists and outlets such as The New York Times and Intercept Brasil.
Kinsella Cunningham, the 2024 Breakthrough Award runner-up, is a photojournalist whose work has appeared in top media outlets, including National Geographic, The Guardian, BBC News, The Sunday Times Magazine, and The Telegraph Magazine. He received the Amnesty International Media Award for Photojournalism in 2024.
Both journalists exemplify the spirit of the Breakthrough Award by diligently pursuing investigative journalism and in-depth reporting that highlights often-overlooked topics in regions frequently neglected by mainstream media.
Potter has made the most of the resources of the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network Fellowship to develop an innovative approach to collecting evidence of environmental crime through satellite imagery. Meanwhile, Kinsella Cunningham embodies the Center’s mission by consistently extending the audience for his reporting through public photo exhibitions and community discussions about the underreported topics he covers. His Center-supported reporting from the DRC focused on the millions of displaced people and lives disrupted 30 years after the Rwandan genocide. He also reported on those hit hardest by the DRC’s intractable wars: women who are now prosecuting attackers and mediating local conflicts, all in hopes of ending decades of violence.
Both journalists have voiced how significant the Center's support has been for their careers and expressed hope that this award will enhance their visibility among news outlets seeking to collaborate with them.
Past recipients of the Breakthrough Award include journalists Sidrah Fatma Ahmed, Neha Wadekar, Mariana Palau, and Victoria McKenzie. You can read more about the award here.
We celebrate these freelancers not only for their adaptability but also for their relentless pursuit of the truth—work that is essential in today’s news environment. These journalists consistently break new ground with their comprehensive coverage of issues that are often overlooked by traditional media outlets.
They frequently work independently, with little or no safety net, and operate with narrow profit margins. We are proud to amplify their work and contribute to their professional development.
Sincerely,
Steve Sapienza
