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“Can Anyone Rescue the Trafficked Girls of L.A.’s Figueroa Street?”

Excellence in Narrative Human-Interest Storytelling, honoring Ernie Pyle

The New York Times, 2026

Author(s): Emily Baumgaertner Nunn

How can sex trafficking of children occur so openly in an American city? Reporting from The New York Times examines Los Angeles’ Figueroa Street neighborhood, which is becoming younger, more violent and more crowded and shows how well-intentioned policies have worsened the crisis.

Honoring Ernie Pyle
Black and white photo of a man talking

During World War II, Ernie Pyle worked for Scripps-Howard as a journalist embedded with the troops he chronicled. Readers in America saw the war through Ernie’s eyes as he recounted in detail the dangers the soldiers experienced and the fears they felt while serving on the front line.