A Pulitzer-Winning Investigation Just Exposed Your Insurance Company's Dark Secret

Ever wonder how your insurance company decides exactly how much your burned-down home is really worth? Turns out, it might involve algorithms that essentially lowball you into oblivion. And a team of journalists just snagged a Pulitzer for exposing it.

UC Berkeley Journalism alumni Susie Neilson, Garance Burke, and Kathleen Hennessey are the latest to join the prestigious club of Pulitzer winners, alongside eight other alums who contributed to award-winning or finalist teams. Basically, a whole lot of very good journalism just got its well-deserved recognition.

Michael D. Bolden, the dean of UC Berkeley Journalism, put it best, noting their stories "illuminated facts in dark places and chronicled humanity in the face of brutality." Which, if you think about it, is a pretty solid job description for a journalist these days. He added that the real win isn't the shiny medal, but the actual impact these stories have on people and communities. Hard to argue with that.

The Truth Tellers

Susie Neilson ('19) from the San Francisco Chronicle shared the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting. Her series, "Burned," dug into how insurance companies used sneaky algorithms to undervalue properties, deny claims, and make it nearly impossible for Californians to rebuild after devastating fires. So, while you're battling the elements, you're also battling a spreadsheet. Maggie Beidelman ('13), a visuals editor, also contributed to the series.

Then there's Garance Burke ('04), an investigative journalist at The Associated Press, who shared the Pulitzer for International Reporting. Her team uncovered how mass surveillance tools, originally cooked up in Silicon Valley and China, are now spreading globally — and being used by none other than the U.S. Border Patrol. The reporting for this globetrotting story spanned three continents and nearly three years, even using visual journalism to show how invisible beams track vehicles and people. Because apparently that's where we are now. Serginho Roosblad ('18) contributed reporting to this story.

Meanwhile, Kathleen Hennessey ('04), an editor at the Minnesota Star Tribune, led her staff to win the Pulitzer for Breaking News. Their coverage zeroed in on a tragic shooting at a Catholic school that left two children dead and 17 wounded. The jury praised the "thoroughness and compassion" of their stories, which, as Hennessey noted, hit particularly close to home for a newsroom full of parents. Andy Mannix ('15) contributed to the reporting.

And the Finalists Who Nearly Got There

Cynthia Dizikes ('08) and Joaquin Palomino ('15) were Pulitzer finalists for Investigative Reporting. Their San Francisco Chronicle series, "Failed to Death," ripped the lid off California's for-profit psychiatric hospitals. They used a unique dataset to expose widespread abuse, neglect, and violence, including hundreds of assaults and at least 18 deaths linked to shoddy care between 2019 and 2024. Let that satisfyingly horrifying number sink in.

Brett Murphy ('16) of ProPublica was a Pulitzer finalist for Explanatory Reporting, revealing how the Trump administration's freeze on humanitarian aid through USAID put hundreds of thousands of people at risk. The fallout? Children dying from malnutrition and widespread exposure to toxins. Tracy Weber ('89), ProPublica's Managing Editor, was an editor on the series.

And Nick Miroff ('06) of The Atlantic was a Pulitzer finalist in Beat Reporting for his deep dive into the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, including stories about a man sent to El Salvador's infamous CECOT prison and the pressure on ICE officers to meet deportation quotas. Because nothing says good governance like quotas.

This year's crop of winners and finalists just proves that when the world gets complicated (and it always does), good journalism is still out there, digging up the uncomfortable truths and making sure someone's held accountable. And if that's not worth celebrating, what is?