Washington Post Wins 6 Pulitzers
AP foreign, Tuesday April 8 2008
By DEEPTI HAJELA
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - The Washington Post won six Pulitzer Prizes on Monday - the most in its history - including awards for its coverage of the Virginia Tech massacre and a series exposing shoddy treatment of America's war wounded at Walter Reed hospital.
The New York Times received two Pulitzers: one for investigative reporting, for stories on toxic ingredients in medicine and other products from China, and one for explanatory reporting, for examining the ethical issues surrounding DNA testing.
Previously, the Post won as many as four Pulitzers in a single year, in 2006. The record is seven, won by the Times in 2002, mostly for its coverage of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Cheers erupted in the Post newsroom when the prizes were announced. Like many newspapers, the Post is struggling mightily with falling circulation and advertising revenue. It is going through its third round of employee buyouts since 2003.
``This is actually a boost to remind people that we can produce this kind of journalism at any time,'' said Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. ``We're going to have a large enough newsroom to continue to produce this kind of quality journalism.''
Post reporter Dana Priest said the Walter Reed story was among the work in which she took the most pride. She and Hull worked on the story for about six months, developing sources among soldiers and their families.
``It's a reminder of what basic journalism can get you involved in,'' she said. ``At a time when journalism is under this cloud of financial uncertainty, reporters have to stay focused, and if we don't, we sort of doom people like the Army specialist who lived with the cockroaches in Building 18.
``We can do better than that.''
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/7444849
Showing posts with label Dana Priest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dana Priest. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
The story behind the reporting on Walter Reed
March 15, 2008...2:29 pm
‘Creating An Investigative Narrative’
I’m here at the Nieman narrative journalism conference in Boston, sitting in on this morning’s keynote speech, “Creating An Investigative Narrative,” with Washington Post writers Anne Hull and Dana Priest. They are explaining the story behind their award winning Walter Reed series. It’s my first time blogging live from a conference, so bear with me. Feedback is welcome.
Some notes from their talk:
Hull and Priest focused on the army’s neglect and the treatment of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital. Neither of them were prepared for the reaction, they said. They received hundreds of e-mails in response to the series.
“For the first time in my life I realized the true power we have as journalists to create change.” –Anne
click post title for the rest
‘Creating An Investigative Narrative’
I’m here at the Nieman narrative journalism conference in Boston, sitting in on this morning’s keynote speech, “Creating An Investigative Narrative,” with Washington Post writers Anne Hull and Dana Priest. They are explaining the story behind their award winning Walter Reed series. It’s my first time blogging live from a conference, so bear with me. Feedback is welcome.
Some notes from their talk:
Hull and Priest focused on the army’s neglect and the treatment of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital. Neither of them were prepared for the reaction, they said. They received hundreds of e-mails in response to the series.
“For the first time in my life I realized the true power we have as journalists to create change.” –Anne
click post title for the rest
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Prosecute Army For Dereliction Of Duty
I was thinking about some of the stories I've posted this year and this was one of the ones that made me think of how many others like 1st Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside there are. What if Dana Priest and Anne Hull didn't report on what she was going through? What would have happened to Whiteside if the Army got away with just prosecuting her?
Dana Priest and Anne Hull have done a great service to the men and women who risk their lives everyday and for all veterans who were ignored by the media before. They've done it time and time again. In each case we really need to wonder what would have been done or allowed to go on if they didn't bother?
Would Walter Reed hospital still be treating the wounded as if they were lucky to be there at all in squalor? Would the DOD still be allowed to ignore the suffering of thousands of veterans, forced out under "personality disorders" unable to be compensated for their wounds or support themselves or their families? Would the VA get away with ignoring the problem of suicides reaching epidemic proportions doing absolutely nothing to open clinics and veterans centers, hiring more psychologist and therapists as well as claims processors? Not that they have even come close to fulfilling those needs still.
Without reporters and families standing up to say this is all wrong, nothing would be fixed at all. We owe them our willingness to fight for all of them, to stand up and say "you can't get away with treating our troops like this" to the Army. As a matter of fact it needs to be said to the Marines, the Navy, the Air Force and the National Guards as well. It is dereliction of duty to leave any of these wounded behind and without their wounds being tended to.
As the brass contemplates any more charges against them they should wonder what they did that caused it to happen because it begins and ends with them. kc
Update on Veteran Army 1st Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside
Army 1st Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside, who was recently profiled by Post reporters Dana Priest and Anne Hull, has received good news: an Army hearing officer has recommended that she should not face a court-martial for attempting suicide and endangering another soldier while in Iraq. Whiteside, who is undergoing psychiatric treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, should be allowed "to end her military service and receive the benefits that she will desperately need for the remainder of her life," said Maj. Mervin H. Steals, the officer assigned to conduct a preliminary hearing. His decision will be passed along to an officer who has jurisdiction over the matter and can accept or reject the recommendation. Whiteside suffered a mental breakdown earlier this year, waving a gun and threatening others before she fired a shot into her stomach. She faces the possibility of life in prison if she is tried and convicted. Her story was part of the Post's ongoing coverage of the treatment of veterans at Walter Reed.
By The Editors December 11, 2007; 10:00 AM ET Walter Reed Previous: Responding to a Critic Next: Meet the Reporters and Editorsclick post title for the rest of this
Dana Priest and Anne Hull have done a great service to the men and women who risk their lives everyday and for all veterans who were ignored by the media before. They've done it time and time again. In each case we really need to wonder what would have been done or allowed to go on if they didn't bother?
Would Walter Reed hospital still be treating the wounded as if they were lucky to be there at all in squalor? Would the DOD still be allowed to ignore the suffering of thousands of veterans, forced out under "personality disorders" unable to be compensated for their wounds or support themselves or their families? Would the VA get away with ignoring the problem of suicides reaching epidemic proportions doing absolutely nothing to open clinics and veterans centers, hiring more psychologist and therapists as well as claims processors? Not that they have even come close to fulfilling those needs still.
Without reporters and families standing up to say this is all wrong, nothing would be fixed at all. We owe them our willingness to fight for all of them, to stand up and say "you can't get away with treating our troops like this" to the Army. As a matter of fact it needs to be said to the Marines, the Navy, the Air Force and the National Guards as well. It is dereliction of duty to leave any of these wounded behind and without their wounds being tended to.
As the brass contemplates any more charges against them they should wonder what they did that caused it to happen because it begins and ends with them. kc
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Diva Veteran's warrior reporters hold Q & A at Walter Reed
All veterans should thank Priest and Hull for fighting for you!
Post Reporters Hold Chat on Walter Reed Series
The Washington Post
Below are excerpts from a recent Washington Post online reader chat with Washington Post reporters Dana Priest and Anne V. Hull, who discussed the latest installment in their "Walter Reed and Beyond" series chronicling the care and treatment given to service members returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The story focused on First Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside and how the military handles mental problems differently than physical wounds.
Q: Why do you suppose those in charge remain so uninformed about wounds of the mind?
A (Hull): Some "get it" and others seem to still be a product of the culture. Like all culture shifts, these are slow to change. And yet the high numbers of returning soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental problems have forced them to take notice. Many initiatives launched and in the works from the Army, but still the disturbing trend continues of service members with mental issues not getting treated the same as the physically wounded.
Q: How is the mental stress of soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan different than those who returned from other wars?
A (Hull): What's different about this war is that they come back to hometowns and cities that are not really engaged in the war. Less than 1 percent of Americans are serving. Also, the battlefield in Iraq is everywhere, with no clear-cut front lines. The randomness of violence and the mutilating nature of bombs and explosives make every day stressful. Just driving a car once home again sets off a lot of soldiers.
go here for the rest
Post Reporters Hold Chat on Walter Reed Series
The Washington Post
Below are excerpts from a recent Washington Post online reader chat with Washington Post reporters Dana Priest and Anne V. Hull, who discussed the latest installment in their "Walter Reed and Beyond" series chronicling the care and treatment given to service members returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The story focused on First Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside and how the military handles mental problems differently than physical wounds.
Q: Why do you suppose those in charge remain so uninformed about wounds of the mind?
A (Hull): Some "get it" and others seem to still be a product of the culture. Like all culture shifts, these are slow to change. And yet the high numbers of returning soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental problems have forced them to take notice. Many initiatives launched and in the works from the Army, but still the disturbing trend continues of service members with mental issues not getting treated the same as the physically wounded.
Q: How is the mental stress of soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan different than those who returned from other wars?
A (Hull): What's different about this war is that they come back to hometowns and cities that are not really engaged in the war. Less than 1 percent of Americans are serving. Also, the battlefield in Iraq is everywhere, with no clear-cut front lines. The randomness of violence and the mutilating nature of bombs and explosives make every day stressful. Just driving a car once home again sets off a lot of soldiers.
go here for the rest
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