Knight-Ridder Papers Win Six Pulitzer Prizes

The Charlotte Observer won two 1988 Pulitzer Prizes today, including the prestigious public service award for revealing misuse of funds by Jim and Tammy Bakker’s PTL television ministry. It was one of six Pulitzers won by Knight-Ridder newspapers.

The Miami Herald, also a Knight-Ridder newspaper, and the Wall Street Journal both also won two awards.

The Pulitzer for general news reporting went to the Alabama Journal of Montgomery for an investigation of the state’s unusually high infant mortality rate, and to the Lawrence (Mass.) Eagle-Tribune for stories that showed flaws in the Massachusetts prison furlough system.

The Chicago Tribune’s Dean Baquet, William Gaines and Ann Marie Lipinski won the Pulitzer for investigative reporting for stories on what the board called “the self-interest and waste that plagued Chicago’s City Council.”

Daniel Hertzberg and James B. Stewart of the Wall Street Journal won the Pulitzer for explanatory journalism for their stories about an investment banker charged with insider trading and the day that followed the October stock market crash.

Secret Pentagon Budget

The Pulitzer Prize for national reporting was won by Tim Weiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer, a Knight-Ridder newspaper, for his series of reports on a secret Pentagon budget used to sponsor defense research and an arms buildup.

Walt Bogdanich of the Wall Street Journal won the Pulitzer for specialized reporting for a series of reports on faulty testing by American medical laboratories.

The Pulitzer for feature writing was awarded to Jacqui Banaszynski of the St. Paul Pioneer Press Dispatch, another Knight-Ridder newspaper, for her series about the life and death of an AIDS victim in a farm community.

Thomas L. Friedman of the New York Times won the Pulitzer for international reporting for what the Pulitzer board termed “balanced and informed coverage of Israel.” It was his second international reporting award.

Dave Barry of the Miami Herald won the Pulitzer for commentary for what the board called “consistently effective use of humor as a device for presenting fresh insights into serious concerns.”

Except for the award for public service, which brings with it a gold medal, Pulitzers carry a cash prize of $3,000. The winners are selected by the Pulitzer Prize board and announced by the president of Columbia University, which administers the competition.

Washington Post Critic

The criticism award went to Tom Shales of the Washington Post for his television criticism.

Jane Healy of the Orlando Sentinel won the Pulitzer for editorial writing for editorials that protested overdevelopment of Florida’s Orange County.

Doug Marlette of the Atlanta Constitution and the Charlotte Observer won the Pulitzer for editorial cartooning. Marlette worked for both papers during the year.

The Pulitzer for spot news photography was awarded to Scott Shaw of the Odessa (Tex.) American for his pictures of Jessica McClure being rescued from the well into which she had fallen.

The Pulitzer for feature photography was awarded to Michel duCille of the Miami Herald for photographs of the decay and rehabilitation of a housing project with a cocaine problem.