The 2010 School of Communications graduate was part of a groundbreaking USA Today/Arizona Republic journalism team that examined the border wall between the United States and Mexico.
Walton is a USA Today photo editor and was one of four digital media managers for the project. She processed the majority of the images used in the feature and organized them in a cross-network database so that the developers/photo editors from all the contributing organizations could use them.
The Pulitzer Prize jury described the project as “vivid and timely reporting that masterfully combined text, video, podcasts and virtual reality to examine, from multiple perspectives, the difficulties and unintended consequences of fulfilling President Trump’s pledge to construct a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.”
More than 30 reporters and photographers traveled the entire border, conducting interviews, joining Border Patrol agents, patrolling with vigilantes and digging through government records. The information was presented with stories, pictures, videos, podcasts, an interactive map and virtual reality. Access “The Wall” at: https://www.usatoday.com/border-wall/
Walton was an Elon Honors Fellow and a member of The Pendulum staff. Following graduation she joined CNN as an associate producer and designer before taking a position as a USA Today photo editor in 2012. She is currently a product manager for USA Today Sports Images, managing entertainment and news content and overseeing all gallery production. Walton has traveled the world as a photo editor and has been at the center of USA Today’s coverage of the Olympics, the Super Bowl and other major sporting events.
The Pulitzer Prizes were announced April 16 at Columbia’s School of Journalism. Walton is the second Elon alumna to receive a Pulitzer Prize. Jo Craven McGinty ’85 was a member of teams at the Washington Post and the New York Times that received Pulitzer awards. She is now a staff member at the Wall Street Journal.