New York Times won Two 2012 Pulitzer Prizes for Explanatory and International Reporting

The 2012 Pulitzer Prize was announced on 16 April 2012. The Associated Press won a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting for documenting the New York Police Department's spying on Muslims. The Philadelphia Inquirer was on the other hand honoured in the public service category for its examination of violence in the city's schools. A second Pulitzer for investigative reporting was given to The Seattle Times for a series about accidental methadone overdoses among patients with chronic pain.

The New York Times won two Pulitzers, for explanatory and international reporting. The Huffington Post received its first Pulitzer, in national reporting, for its exploration of the challenges facing American veterans wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa., won for local reporting for breaking the Penn State sexual abuse scandal that eventually brought down legendary football coach Joe Paterno. The staff of The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News won the Pulitzer for Breaking news Reporting for its coverage of a deadly tornado.

The judges declined to award a prize for editorial writing. The Pulitzer Prize board has failed to select a winner of the award for fiction for the first time in 35 years.

The Pulitzers are given out annually by Columbia University on the recommendation of a board of journalists and others. Each award carries a $10,000 prize except for the public service award, which is a gold medal.