Ganim / Patriot-News Win Pulitzer for Sandusky / PSU Coverage

I will make my obligatory comment on this and then move on .... I hope the paper paid her overtime for those 60-hour weeks.

 

Modern incarnation of the Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting:

2007: Debbie Cenziper, Miami Herald, "For reports on waste, favoritism and lack of oversight at the Miami housing agency that resulted in dismissals, investigations and prosecutions."
2008: David Umhoefer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "For his stories on the skirting of tax laws to pad pensions of county employees, prompting change and possible prosecution of key figures."
2009: (two winners) Detroit Free Press Staff, and notably Jim Schaefer and M.L. Elrick, "for their uncovering of a pattern of lies by Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick that included denial of a sexual relationship with his female chief of staff, prompting an investigation of perjury that eventually led to jail terms for the two officials."
2009: (two winners) Ryan Gabrielson and Paul Giblin of the East Valley Tribune, "for their adroit use of limited resources to reveal, in print and online, how a popular sheriff's focus on immigration enforcement endangered investigation of violent crime and other aspects of public safety." Original series
2010: Raquel Rutledge of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "for her penetrating reports on the fraud and abuse in a child-care program for low-wage working parents that fleeced taxpayers and imperiled children, resulting in a state and federal crackdown on providers."
2011: Sara Ganim and the staff of The Patriot-News, "For courageously revealing and adeptly covering the explosive Penn State sex scandal involving former football coach Jerry Sandusky."

 

Are pink socks a big look in Harrisburg?

 

I do not think that means what you think it means.

 

Frank Main, Mark Konkol and John J. Kim of the Chicago Sun-Times won this same award last year.

 

You kind of took the words out of my mouth. She's basically Fred Lynn now, right? How do you follow this? George Dohrmann carries that burden, too, after winning a Pulitzer for reporting on a sports scandal. Then he got a job at SI uncovering sports scandals. Maybe he's the type that likes it, but essentially he sentenced himself to a lifetime of having to uncover dirt - and I don't mean that pejoratively at all, but I can see where 30-40 years of waking up every day and pissing new people off might feel long a long road.

That said ...

Her quote about waking up in the morning to the sound of a police scanner and basically living for the news warms my heart. I don't know this woman at all, but I'm so proud of her because she loves and believes in the news the way I love and believe in the news.

Oh, and you're my guy Creosote, but if I won a Pulitzer, I'd be dancing on the tables and shaking my ass at everyone in sight. OK, I'd probably pretend to be humbled. But I'd go home and dance on the table and shake my ass at pretend people.

 

I know everyone has to get their two cents of scolding in -- it wouldn't be SportsJournalists.com if that didn't happen -- but the amount of shit Creosote's taken for a rather innocuous statement has reached critical mass.

 

I think it's just because it's a good entry point into a conversation worth having about awards and how to handle peer recognition. Different people have sincerely different opinions on it.

 

Kinda hard to figure out exactly what a person is thinking from one snapshot in time. You can guess, sure.

 

For example, you'd never guess that the guy in this photo was actually running out to congratulate the home-plate umpire of the recent birth of twin boys.

 

Holy christ. The scolding! The calm, reasonable and rational opinion sharing! It's all too much to take!

Creosote is big boy. No one is attacking him personally, shotty. If you're going to solider up on behalf of someone who's been wronged at SJ, there are people a lot more desperate for your help.