1989 Pulitzer Prize - Journalism Awards

Journalism Awards

• Public Service:
  • Anchorage Daily News, for reporting about the high incidence of alcoholism and suicide among native Alaskans in a series that focused attention on their despair and resulted in various reforms.
• General News Reporting:
  • Staff of Louisville Courier-Journal, for its exemplary initial coverage of a bus crash that claimed 27 lives and its subsequent thorough and effective examination of the causes and implications of the tragedy.
• Investigative Reporting:
  • Bill Dedman of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, for his investigation of the racial discrimination practiced by lending institutions in Atlanta, reporting which led to significant reforms in those policies.
• Explanatory Journalism:
  • David Hanners, reporter, William Snyder, photographer, and Karen Blessen, artist of The Dallas Morning News, for their special report on a 1985 airplane crash, the follow-up investigation, and the implications for air safety.
• Specialized Reporting:
  • Edward Humes of The Orange County Register, for his in-depth reporting on the military establishment in Southern California.
• National Reporting:
  • Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele of The Philadelphia Inquirer, for their 15-month investigation of rifle shot provisions in the Tax Reform Act of 1986, a series that aroused such widespread public indignation that Congress subsequently rejected proposals giving special tax breaks to many politically connected individuals and businesses.
• International Reporting:
  • Bill Keller of The New York Times, for resourceful and detailed coverage of events in the U.S.S.R.
• International Reporting:
  • Glenn Frankel of The Washington Post, for sensitive and balanced reporting from Israel and the Middle East.
• Feature Writing:
  • David Zucchino of The Philadelphia Inquirer, for his richly compelling series, Being Black in South Africa.
• Commentary:
  • Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune, for his provocative columns on local and national affairs.
• Criticism:
  • Michael Skube of the News & Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina. For his writing about books and other literary topics.
• Editorial Writing:
  • Lois Wille of the Chicago Tribune, for her editorials on a variety of local issues.
• Editorial Cartooning:
  • Jack Higgins of the Chicago Sun-Times.
• Spot News Photography:
  • Ron Olshwanger, a free-lance photographer, for a picture published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch of a firefighter giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a child pulled from a burning building.
• Feature Photography:
  • Manny Crisostomo of the Detroit Free Press, for his series of photographs depicting student life at Southwestern High School in Detroit.