This 2009 Pulitzer Prize winners in journalism have been announced. Of note...
For public service:
Awarded to the Las Vegas Sun, and notably the courageous reporting by Alexandra Berzon, for the exposure of the high death rate among construction workers on the Las Vegas Strip amid lax enforcement of regulations, leading to changes in policy and improved safety conditions.
For explanatory reporting:
Awarded to Bettina Boxall and Julie Cart of the Los Angeles Times for their fresh and painstaking exploration into the cost and effectiveness of attempts to combat the growing menace of wildfires across the western United States.
For feature writing:
Awarded to Lane DeGregory of the St. Petersburg Times for her moving, richly detailed story of a neglected little girl, found in a roach-infested room, unable to talk or feed herself, who was adopted by a new family committed to her nurturing.
I'm sad to say that the majority of those who won individual prizes appear to be men (although it's always difficult to tell from names alone). Congratulations to all those courageous wordsmiths who told the important stories even in a transitioning field.
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I was happy to see that Merwin won for poetry. He's amazing.
And everyone should know about Lynn Nottage winning for the breathtaking play, RUINED:
"Awarded to “Ruined,” by Lynn Nottage, a searing drama set in chaotic Congo that compels audiences to face the horror of wartime rape and brutality while still finding affirmation of life and hope amid hopelessness."
Yay to women of color in theater!!
http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2009-Drama
Thanks for adding these! We should do a whole separate post on the literature. I really want to see Ruined!
Of even greater note, for me, is David Barstow's Pulitzer for Investigative Reporting on the military's use of "independent" military analysts as propaganda tools in the run-up to the Iraq War. [Just to be a bit snarky: even though Barstow is a dude.]
Here's Salon's article on Barrow, whose investigation, and now award, is being buried.
Congrats to all the winners! Seriously need to pick up "Ruined."
I followed Alexandra Berzon's Las Vegas Sun series with great interest - I'm a union carpenter, and I blog about construction labor issues.
Hands down Berzon's series was some of the best writing about construction worker issues that I've ever read in the corporate media - EVER!
And she was a rookie reporter with less than a year on the job when she started the series!
Her series didn't clean up the safety problems by itself, of course - it took a 2 day strike by 6,000 Las Vegas construction workers to do that.
But she did get their story out to the world, and for that, she is my hero.
Alexandra Berzon RULES!
I live in Las Vegas, and much of my family and friends work in construction and some at City Center. I was so happy to see her win as well. She deserved it.