Gannett’s Detroit Free Press Wins Pulitzer for Coverage of Mayoral Scandal
McLEAN, VA – The Detroit Free Press won its ninth Pulitzer Prize today for its coverage of the text message scandal that led to the resignation and jailing of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. The Detroit Free Press won in the local reporting category and was awarded a $10,000 prize.
“Winning journalism’s top prize caps a year of great achievement by the Detroit Free Press staff. Their dedication to public service journalism and their execution of a story of this magnitude to their community is a fine example of the work Gannett strives to achieve across the company,” said Gannett Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Craig Dubow. “We congratulate the Free Press and its staff on their excellent work.”
The Free Press won for work done by reporters Jim Schaefer and M.L. Elrick, who began their investigation in January 2008. The team uncovered text messages proving that the former mayor and his chief of staff had lied under oath during a 2007 trial involving the termination of the deputy police chief.
Also today, Detroit Free Press cartoonist Mike Thompson was nominated as a finalist in the editorial cartooning category for his collection of print and animated cartoons that blend the great traditions of the craft with new online possibilities.
The awards were announced today by Columbia University in New York, which sponsors the annual prizes.
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