Peter Smith (journalist)

Peter Smith is an American journalist who reports on religion, politics, and social issues. He is a religion reporter for the Associated Press and previously served as religion editor for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Smith was part of the Post-Gazette newsroom that received the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting and was also a 2020 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Local Reporting for an investigative series examining sexual abuse and institutional responses in Amish and Mennonite communities.^[1][2]

Smith has worked as a journalist covering religion, public policy, and social issues in the United States. He previously reported for the Louisville Courier-Journal before joining the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as religion editor.^[3]

At the Post-Gazette, Smith reported extensively on faith communities, church leadership, and the intersection of religion and public life. His work included coverage of major developments within Catholic, Protestant, and evangelical institutions as well as reporting on religious communities in western Pennsylvania.^[4]

Smith later joined the global religion reporting team at the Associated Press, where he covers religion and politics for a national and international audience.^[5]

In addition to his reporting, Smith has served as president of the **Religion News Association**, a professional organization for journalists covering religion.^[6]

Smith has contributed to investigative reporting projects examining abuse, institutional accountability, and the intersection of religion and public life.

He collaborated with reporters Shelly Bradbury and Stephanie Strasburg of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on the investigative series Coverings which examined sexual abuse allegations and the handling of abuse cases within Amish and Mennonite communities in North America.^[2]

The project documented survivor testimony, criminal cases, and the cultural expectations surrounding forgiveness and reconciliation within Plain religious communities. The reporting examined how insular religious structures sometimes influenced the reporting and prosecution of abuse cases.^[4]

The series was named a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting.^[2]

Smith was part of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newsroom that covered the **Tree of Life synagogue shooting** on October 27, 2018, the deadliest antisemitic attack in United States history.^[1]

The newspaper's reporting documented the immediate aftermath of the attack, the experiences of victims and their families, and the response of Pittsburgh's Jewish community. The coverage received the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting.^[1]

Smith also reported extensively on the Pennsylvania grand jury investigation into decades of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.^[4]

• Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting (2019) – shared by the staff of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for coverage of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting.^[1]
• Pulitzer Prize finalist for Local Reporting (2020) – with Shelly Bradbury and Stephanie Strasburg for the investigative series Coverings examining abuse within Amish and Mennonite communities.^[2]

• Religion journalism
• Associated Press
• Stephanie Strasburg
• Shelly Bradbury