Pulitzer Center Update April 23, 2026
Pulitzer Center-Supported Documentaries Nominated for 2026 Emmys
The impact of the Trump administration’s decision to shut down USAID
Three Pulitzer Center-supported films are nominated for the 47th News & Documentary Emmy Awards, which will be announced on September 14, 2026.
The nominees include Cuts and Consequences: The End of USAID, by PBS NewsHour; What Japan’s Atom Bomb Survivors Have Taught Us About the Dangers of Nuclear War, by Retro Report and TIME; and Hold the Line, by The New Yorker.
Cuts and Consequences: The End of USAID is nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Continuing Coverage: Short Form. The short film, by grantees William Brangham and Molly Knight Raskin for PBS NewsHour, tracks how the Trump administration's closure of the U.S. Agency for International Development is being felt globally. They traveled to Kenya and Ghana to see firsthand how the loss of health aid impacts vulnerable populations and has global ramifications.
“PBS is proud to share these acclaimed films with audiences and is honored to be recognized by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences,” PBS said in a press release.
“So grateful to be recognized alongside these fearless journalists, and beyond proud of our PBS News team for producing this critical global story on the impact of the end of #USAID ... which wouldn't have happened without the support of the Pulitzer Center,” Raskin posted on LinkedIn. “This nomination is for the countless victims of the end of #USAID. Thank you for trusting us with your stories.”
Raskin is also a partner in Pulitzer Center education programming, visiting classrooms at schools and universities. Students can learn from this reporting in a virtual journalist visit on demand.
Also nominated is What Japan’s Atom Bomb Survivors Have Taught Us About the Dangers of Nuclear War—by grantee Scott Michels for Retro Report and TIME—in the Outstanding Light Feature: Short Form category.
The short film interviews Japanese survivors of the atomic bomb dropped by the U.S. on Hiroshima in 1945. The survivors, known in Japanese as hibakusha, recall the devastation left behind by the bombing and warn of future risks. The long-term effects of Hiroshima still linger, and some hibakusha later became activists pushing for nuclear disarmament and compensation for victims. Nuclear conflict remains a severe threat today.
“We are grateful to The News & Documentary Emmy Awards for the support and recognition,” Retro Report said in a Facebook post.
The film also inspired Pulitzer Center education and outreach events. Educators can use our resource guide and educator webinar to design lessons based on the reporting.
Hold the Line, a short documentary under the headline “Can the Southern Baptist Convention Survive Without Women Pastors?”—by grantee Daniel Lombroso and Outerboro Films for The New Yorker—was nominated for Outstanding Direction: News.
The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest evangelical denomination in the U.S., has recently been embroiled in debate over the role of women in church leadership. Several churches were expelled from the denomination in 2023 for allowing women in pastor roles. Amid declining membership, this ignited a fierce debate about theology, politics, and the future of the church.
This is the first Emmy nomination for Outerboro Films.
See the full list of News & Documentary Emmy Award nominees here.
Project
Children of the Atomic Bomb
In August 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki—the only use of...
Project
'Hold the Line'
This documentary captures a church in crisis through the lens of two pastors on opposite sides of a...
