Pulitzer Center Update

Grantee Hal Bernton Wins SEJ Award for Outstanding Beat Reporting

This gray whale died in July in Ugak Bay at Kodiak Island in Southwest Alaska, one of 179 reported deaths during the annual migration from Mexico to summer feeding grounds in the Bering Strait region. Image by Severin Reed. United States, 2019.

This gray whale died in July in Ugak Bay at Kodiak Island in Southwest Alaska, one of 179 reported deaths during the annual migration from Mexico to summer feeding grounds in the Bering Strait region. Image by Severin Reed. United States, 2019.

Pulitzer Center grantee Hal Bernton was recognized by the Society of Environmental Journalists for his in-depth reporting on critical environmental issues, winning first place in the Outstanding Beat Reporting category.

The SEJ award recognized Bernton’s extensive catalogue of environmental reporting for The Seattle Times, including his Pulitzer Center-supported project “After the Ice.” Featured in the Pulitzer Center’s Connected Coastlines initiative, his project examines the consequences of an increasingly ice-free Bering Sea, considering the effect of climate change on both the marine life, and people, reliant on this quickly warming body of water. Bernton’s “lively writing and evocative images make dense topics interesting, and the impacts on readers clear,” added judges.

Established by the Society of Environmental Journalists, The SEJ Awards for Reporting on the Environment recognizes journalists for critical reporting on the environment. “The world's largest and most comprehensive environmental journalism competition,” SEJ honors journalists in print, broadcast, and audio categories.

Bernton’s work “is environmental beat reporting at its finest,” said judges.

For a full list of winners and additional information about this year’s award, please click here.