Florida: Miami Herald Bags Pulitzer Prize for Coverage of Champlain Towers South Collapse

The Miami Herald on Monday bagged a Pulitzer Prize for covering the tragic June 24 collapse of the Champlain towers in Surfside, Florida.

The said outlet was awarded the top prize by the committee in the Breaking News category, the accolade which judges how a news organization covers a major news event.

"As a newsroom, we poured our hearts into the breaking news and the ongoing daily coverage, and subsequent investigative coverage, of the Champlain Towers South condominium collapse story," Miami Herald Executive Editor Monica Richardson said.

Richardson added that the surfside condo collapse was their story to tell because the people and the family in the city who were affected by the tragedy were part of their community.

According to San Diego Union-Tribune, the Miami Herald was cited by the Pulitzer panel for "urgent yet sweeping" coverage that was done through "merging clear and compassionate writing with comprehensive news and accountability reporting."

Miami Herald's Covering of Florida Condo Collapse

The Miami Herald broke its first confirmed story of the colapse at around 3:21 a.m. on the day of the tragedy, noting that at least 99 were feared missing. After the 15-year-old boy was pulled from the rubble alive, the number of those killed, which was 98, proved the first count of the outlet accurate.

At around 6:40 a.m., the outlet had already updated its story more than 40 times when most people were first discovering the news. At around 8:14 a.m., the Herald published a story with hotline numbers for families of the missing and by 8:30 a.m., the outlet had submitted public records requests for the building's inspection records.

"Our job becomes to get as many answers as we can, as quickly as we can. It matters so much in those early hours. People who lived through that tragedy deserve it," Miami herald Investigative Reporter Sarah Bliskey said.

Richardson noted that their outlet receiving their Pulitzer award shows the power of local journalism.

"This Pulitzer comes with a mixture of sadness and gratification," Richardson added.

Florida Judge Sets Auction Date For Champlain Property

On Monday, a Florida judge has set a schedule for the auction of the beachfront Champlain property.

According to WLRN, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman agreed to set the auction date for the said property on May 24 in the morning.

Reports claimed that the purchaser is a Dubai-based developer, DAMAC Properties, which has agreed to move forward and buy the land for at least $120 million.

"It is the court's intention, once this property is sold at auction in a few weeks, to move the closing process quickly, close this transaction and pay the amounts to the condo owners that the court-approved," Hanzman underscored.

As part of the agreement, the purchaser would have to deposit $34 million with an escrow agent, to increase the total earnest money deposit to $50 million.

The money is set to go towards the $83 million settlement for condo unit owners who survived.

The auction will happen at the Miami-Dade children's courthouse.

It can be recalled that the Champlain towers in Surfside, Florida collapsed on June 24.

The final death toll of the tragedy was marked at 98, with the final missing person identified as the 54-year-old Estella Hedaya.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava noted that all the reported missing persons were recovered, while 242 were accounted for in the aftermath of the Florida tragedy.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written By: Joshua Summers

WATCH: Answers Delayed in Surfside Condo Collapse - From ABC Action News