🏆 2018 PULITZER PRIZE

THE WALL

A 2,000-mile investigation that used VR and immersive storytelling to change how America understood the border.

The Wall was an unprecedented journalistic undertaking—a team-driven investigation that traced the entire U.S.-Mexico border, combining traditional reporting with immersive virtual reality to help readers experience what words and photographs alone could not convey.

The project became the first to explicitly cite VR in winning the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting, establishing new possibilities for how emerging technology could serve journalism’s mission of helping people understand complex realities.

As a key member of the leadership team, I helped shape how we balanced technological innovation with journalistic integrity, built strategic relationships across the organization, and navigated the challenges of working at the intersection of storytelling and immersive technology.

My Role

Team leadership and strategic coordination for immersive storytelling components
Translating journalistic principles into virtual reality experiences
Building partnerships across newsroom, technology, and external platforms
Navigating organizational dynamics to secure resources and political support
Shaping editorial approach for emerging medium while maintaining credibility

Recognition

2018

Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting

First to explicitly cite VR technology

MARCH 2018

ASNE Punch Sulzberger Award

Online Storytelling Excellence

MARCH 2018

Scripps Howard Award

Innovation in Journalism

OCTOBER 2018

Editor & Publisher Eppy Award

Best Innovation Project (1M+ visitors)

The newsroom moment when The Wall team learned of the Pulitzer Prize win—a recognition of what happens when journalism embraces innovation without abandoning integrity.

What Changed

The Wall demonstrated that immersive technology could serve journalism’s highest purposes—not as gimmick, but as genuine enhancement to understanding.

For readers, the project created visceral understanding of complex border realities. For journalism, it established precedent that emerging technology deserved serious consideration. For organizations, it proved that bold investments in innovation could yield both critical recognition and audience impact.

The work validated what I’d long believed: that journalism’s future depends on thoughtful integration of new capabilities, guided by enduring principles of accuracy, fairness, and service to understanding.