ISSUE

Summer 2016

The Pulitzer Centennial

The effects of power may be obvious—high office, laws, riches, regulations, even life and death—but power itself is only an idea, one that journalists have long struggled to describe. For a century, Pulitzer-winning works—some of the best journalism ever produced—have readily confronted the powerful, and constantly held power to account. As the Pulitzer Prize celebrates its centennial year, Nieman Reports takes a look at a century of Pulitzer journalism speaking truth to power, setting the tone for another 100 years of remarkable work. Our Summer 2016 issue also highlights forgotten Prize-winning works worth remembering, an examination of competing news outfits teaming up to do watchdog stories—including many that have won the Pulitzer, and the business reporting at the core of much Pulitzer journalism.

Articles

J.R. Moehringer, NF ’01

J.R. Moehringer, NF ’01

Moehringer’s “Crossing Over” is a portrait of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, an isolated river hamlet that is home to many descendants of slaves. A proposal to bring back ferry service to the mainland prompted…
Gilbert M. Gaul, NF ’83

Gilbert M. Gaul, NF ’83

Gaul’s five-part investigative series “The Blood Brokers” exposed safety issues and lax federal regulation of the blood industry.Last December, the Community Blood Center in Appleton, Wis., made a public appeal…
Mary Jordan, NF ’90

Mary Jordan, NF ’90

Jordan and her husband Kevin Sullivan, co-bureau chiefs of the Post’s Mexico City bureau, were recognized for their exposure of the treacherous and unjust conditions in the Mexico criminal justice…
Heidi Evans, NF ’93

Heidi Evans, NF ’93

Editorial Writing, 2007 · New York Daily News
Pulitzer’s Forgotten Classics

Pulitzer’s Forgotten Classics

From the start, the Pulitzer Prizes have sought to recognize journalists for investigating how power works, for holding the powerful to account, and for exposing abuses of power. Yet power…
Richard Read, NF ’97 and Brent Walth, NF ’06

Richard Read, NF ’97 and Brent Walth, NF ’06

Public Service, 2001 · The Oregonian
Raquel Rutledge, NF ’12

Raquel Rutledge, NF ’12

Local Reporting, 2010 · Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Alex S. Jones, NF ’82

Specialized Reporting, 1987 · The New York Times
Madeleine Blais, NF ’86

Madeleine Blais, NF ’86

In the 1970s World War I veteran Edward Zepp frequently showed up in Florida newsrooms, trying to interest a reporter in his battle to get his military release status upgraded…

William K. Marimow, NF ’83

Investigative Reporting, 1985 · The Philadelphia Inquirer

Eyes on the Prize

The Pulitzer's greatest achievement over the past 100 years lies not in naming winners, but in setting standards
Nathan G. Caldwell, NF ’41 and Gene S. Graham, NF ’63

Nathan G. Caldwell, NF ’41 and Gene S. Graham, NF ’63

Caldwell and Graham spent half a dozen years reporting on the undercover deal between United Mine Workers president John L. Lewis and billionaire financier Cyrus Eaton, who had major interests in…
Maria  Henson, NF ’94

Maria Henson, NF ’94

What started out as a single editorial, written after a Lexington woman was fatally shot by her abusive husband, turned into a series of editorials about battered women in Kentucky.…
George Rodrigue, NF ’90

George Rodrigue, NF ’90

National Reporting, 1986 · The Dallas Morning News
Shirley Christian, NF ’74

Shirley Christian, NF ’74

Christian was recognized for her dispatches from Central America. Her specialty was reporting on the human dimensions of political strife.GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala—“If you want to cry out for the dignity…

Hedrick Smith, NF ’70

Public Service, 1972 · The New York Times
Stan Grossfeld, NF ’92

Stan Grossfeld, NF ’92

Feature Photography, 1985 · The Boston Globe

Gene Miller, NF ’68

Local Investigative Specialized Reporting, 1967 · The Miami Herald
Dale Maharidge, NF ’88

Dale Maharidge, NF ’88

General Nonfiction, 1990 · “And Their Children After Them” (photos by Michael Williamson)
William Lambert, NF ’60 Wallace Turner, NF ’59

William Lambert, NF ’60 Wallace Turner, NF ’59

Lambert and Turner’s stories about efforts on the part of union and underworld figures to wrest control from municipal officials in Portland, Oregon helped spur investigations into organized crime in…
Doug Marlette, NF ’81

Doug Marlette, NF ’81

Marlette, who died in 2007, is remembered by Christopher Weyant, NF ’16, a cartoonist for The New Yorker.Of the thousands of political cartoons I’ve read over the course of my…
Keyes Beech, NF ’53

Keyes Beech, NF ’53

International Reporting, 1951 · Chicago Daily News
Anne  Hull,  NF ’95

Anne Hull, NF ’95

The Washington Post’s investigation into the neglect and mistreatment of wounded veterans and the deplorable conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center incited a public outcry and prompted a…

John Hughes, NF ’62

International Reporting, 1967 · The Christian Science Monitor
Anthony Lewis, NF ’57

Anthony Lewis, NF ’57

Lewis wrote a series of articles about Abraham Chasanow, a civilian employee of the U.S. Navy who—deemed a security risk for allegedly having communist associations—was suspended from his job for…

Daniel R. Biddle, NF ’90, H.G. Bissinger, NF ’86, and Fredric N. Tulsky, NF ’89

Investigative Reporting, 1987 · The Philadelphia Inquirer
Eugene Robinson, NF ’88

Eugene Robinson, NF ’88

Robinson’s eloquent, insightful columns on the 2008 presidential race explored what the election of the first African-American president would mean—for him, for African-Americans, and for the country as a whole.It’s…
Stanley Forman,  NF ’80

Stanley Forman, NF ’80

Spot News Photography, 1977 · Boston Herald American
Anja Niedringhaus, NF ’07

Anja Niedringhaus, NF ’07

Breaking News Photography, 2005 · The Associated Press
Cynthia Tucker, NF ’89

Cynthia Tucker, NF ’89

Commentary, 2007 · The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Ken Armstrong, NF ’01

Explanatory Reporting, 2016 · The Marshall Project

Robert A. Caro, NF ’66

Biography, 2003 · “Master of the Senate”
Ann Marie Lipinski, NF ’90

Ann Marie Lipinski, NF ’90

In the series “The Spoils of Power,” Lipinski, Dean Baquet, and William Gaines revealed the waste, self-interest, and profiteering that dominated the proceedings of the 50-member Chicago City Council. During…
Harry S.  Ashmore,  NF ’42

Harry S. Ashmore, NF ’42

Editorial Writing, 1958 · Arkansas Gazette

Excerpts from Pulitzer-Winning Works of Niemans, 1951-2016

Thirty-two works by Nieman Pulitzer winners that tackle abuses of power.