Bartholomew Sullivan of The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn., relies on attention to detail and evocative prose to bring his readers to the heart of breaking news, whether it's the conviction of a Ku Klux Klan wizard for a three-decades-old murder of a black civil rights worker, the funeral of country music star Carl Perkins, or a tornado that devastates a small farm community in Arkansas.
The News Tribune in Tacoma, Wash., re-creates a deadly avalanche on Mount Rainier through the accounts of those who survived the disaster, combining careful reporting, collaboration with visual journalists, and dramatic storytelling to reveal the human stories behind the news.
DeNeen L. Brown of The Washington Post blends meticulous reporting with lyrical and incisive writing in a collection of extraordinary stories that tackle emotionally charged topics such as abortion, racial equality, juvenile justice, and modern-day parenting with honest sensitivity and literary grace.
J. Peder Zane of the Raleigh News & Observer provides uncommon insights in columns that use the prism of books to offer provocative commentary on topics as diverse as genocide and slavery, the value of fiction, and the modern curse of tell-all memoirs.
Bailey Thomson of the Mobile Register (Ala.) indicts his home state in a blistering series of editorials about failures in education, environment, and political courage that also furnishes an effective catalog of solutions drawn from neighboring states.
Mirta Ojito of The New York Times provides apenetrating first-person account of changes in her native Cuba in a powerful example of foreign reporting honored for its ability to help readers understand the impact of international news on their own lives.
