Christiaan Triebert Wins Pulitzer Prize on Behalf of The New York Times

Faculty of Arts alumnus and investigative journalist Christiaan Triebert has won a prestigious Pulitzer Prize on behalf of the American newspaper The New York Times for revelations about Russia and President Putin's aggressive actions in countries including Syria and Europe. He is on the New York Times Visual Investigations team. Christiaan said that the still ongoing, horrific war in Syria is a more important topic of discussion than the Pulitzer Prize.

In addition, the award is a breakthrough for the journalistic method of him and his colleagues called open source investigation. He emphasizes that, in his opinion, the award is also a tribute to all Syrians who risk their lives by filming, photographing, and telling what happens, and reiterated that without them it is not possible to make these stories. The New York Times Visual Investigations team investigate bombardments using photos, videos and statements they receive from people in Syria. They link this to public information on social media, among other things. For example, by checking whether all times match, they can verify the source material.

Cristiaan studied International Relations (Class of 2015) at the Faculty of Arts and has priviously worked for the research collective Bellingcat. "This is such a big prize. I have been working at The New York Times for a year now and of course we have done a lot of research, and we knew it would be appreciated, but this is really great," he said to NOS. But Chritiaan is exactly where he wants to be - between all people who complement each other with their skills. He therefore does not have the idea that the Pulitzer Prize will change his career. He hopes that he can continue with what he is doing now.

Christiaan is currently working for eight weeks from his childhood home in Leeuwarden because due to the corona crisis he cannot return to New York. His working day starts mid-afternoon and lasts until late in the night, trying to work as much as possible on New York time.

The Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prize is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine and online journalism, literature, and musical composition in the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fortune as a newspaper publisher, and is administered by Columbia University. Prizes are awarded yearly in twenty-one categories. In twenty of the categories, each winner receives a certificate and a $15,000 cash award. The Pulitzer Prize does not automatically consider all applicable works in the media, but only those that have specifically been entered.