08-05-2025
Central High graduate Alissa Zhu wins Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Central High School graduate Alissa Zhu has earned what's widely regarded as the highest honor in journalism.
Zhu, a 2011 CHS alumna, was part of the team at The Baltimore Banner awarded the Pulitzer Prize for local reporting this week, recognizing their in-depth investigation into the city's deadly opioid crisis.
According to the publication, the reporting project, led by Zhu, revealed that Baltimore has the highest drug overdose rate among large U.S. cities. Their work uncovered a public health emergency that had long been overlooked — one that has taken a disproportionate toll on older Black men and was worsened by inadequate regulation and response from government leaders.
Zhu and her colleagues spent nearly two years sifting through thousands of previously inaccessible public records and conducting on-the-ground reporting in some of Baltimore's hardest-hit communities. Their efforts culminated in a sweeping investigative series that not only exposed systemic failures but is now shaping public policy.
'Less than three years after The Banner's launch, our team is extraordinarily honored to accept the organization's first Pulitzer Prize,' Zhu said in a statement. 'We are even more honored to see the information we brought to light is now helping shape new conversations, policies and programs to tackle overdoses in our city and state.'
The Banner's reporting began with a legal battle for transparency. In 2022, the newsroom sued Maryland's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner after it refused to release complete autopsy records. A judge ruled in the paper's favor earlier this year, opening the door to a deeper understanding of the overdose epidemic's toll.
The Pulitzer Prize committee praised the work as 'a compassionate investigative series that captured the breathtaking dimensions of Baltimore's fentanyl crisis and its disproportionate impact on older Black men.'
Zhu's journey from Central High School in Springfield to the national spotlight is a point of pride for the local community. She studied journalism at Northwestern University and previously reported for the Springfield News-Leader.
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