Pentagon Spokesman Praises NYT For Pulitzer Win on Coverage of U.S. Military Airstrikes Killing Civilians
Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby praised The New York Times on Tuesday for winning the Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting for its series on U.S. airstrikes causing civilian casualties.
During the Pentagon press briefing, Kirby congratulated the Pulitzer Prize recipients and specifically gave a shoutout to Ukrainian journalists and the Times.
“It’s tough to read, tough to watch, but, you know what?” he said. “It should be, based on what Mr. [Vladimir] Putin is doing. And the bravery and skill that they are showing every day is truly inspiring, just as the work of the — the fighting of the Ukrainian soldiers is.”
Kirby continued:
I also would be remiss if I didn’t also congratulate the staff of The New York Times for the Pulitzer that they won in their coverage of civilian casualties caused by the United States military and military operations. That coverage was—and it still is—not comfortable, not easy, and not simple to address. We know that we had more work to do to better prevent civilian harm. And we’re doing that work. We knew that we had made mistakes, we’re trying to learn from those mistakes. And we knew that we weren’t always as transparent about those mistakes as we should be. But their reporting reinforced those concerns and in some cases gave us cause for additional concerns. And it made us ask ourselves some new and difficult questions of our own, even as it forced us to answer their difficult questions.
I cannot say that this process was pleasant. But I guess that’s the whole point. It’s not supposed to be. That’s what a free press at its very best does, it holds us to account and makes us think even as it informs. It changes our minds and it helps us make — it helps us better at our big job of defending this nation. The talented staff and reporters of The New York Times, some of whom work in this very press corps alongside you, have done all that. And, yes, we are grateful to them for it. We know they’re happy for the Pulitzer, but we hope that they are also content in the knowledge that they made a real difference on a real and very challenging issue.
Watch above, via CSPAN.
