Pulitzer Center Update August 14, 2026
To Meet the Moment, Pulitzer Offers U.S. Democracy Reporting Grants
Country:
We’re in an era of high anxiety in the United States. Federal and state policies are stirring debate over whether bedrock rights to vote, protest, free speech, and due process are threatened. Americans of different political persuasions are also increasingly concerned about the economy and the Iran war. And they’re worried about access to healthcare and how federal agencies—ICE, notably, and federal prosecutors—are wielding power.
To meet this moment, the Pulitzer Center is offering grants for journalists to report on the state of U.S. democracy, and how policies are affecting civil rights and lives.
We’re interested, for example, in stories related to the consequential and fast approaching November midterm congressional and state elections. We’re also interested in ambitious stories exploring how public money and resources are spent, who is benefiting, or not, and how people’s rights are at stake.
This interest isn’t new to the Pulitzer Center.
In 2022, a Pulitzer Center grant helped The Arizona Republic report on midterm election preparation and concerns in the battleground U.S. state. Two years before, election officials in Arizona faced violent threats when Donald Trump supporters falsely claimed that he’d been cheated after losing Arizona in the 2020 presidential election. More recently, starting in 2024, a Pulitzer Center grant helped the Mississippi Free Press investigate polling station closures and other voting rights concerns.
This year, Pulitzer Center support helped the Montana Free Press explore constitutional rights and how federal power is shaking up communities in unexpected ways. MTFP’s remarkable series details why a Trump-voting Montana town—and a local sheriff—rose up against an ICE plan to seize a local immigrant and what happened afterward.
Reporters and outlets have the discretion to decide what matters to them, and convince us that the idea deserves support. Go on, make your case.
Susan Ferriss
Senior Editor
This message appeared in the August 14, 2026, edition of the Pulitzer Center's weekly newsletter.
