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Photographer Todd Heisler, reporter Jim Sheeler honored By Kevin Vaughan, Rocky Mountain News The Rocky Mountain News was honored Monday with Pulitzer Prizes in writing and photography for its unflinching look at the way U.S. Marines honor comrades who have paid the ultimate price. In a newsroom celebration marked by emotion and tears, reporter Jim Sheeler was recognized for winning in feature writing and photographer Todd Heisler in feature photography for their collaboration, "Final Salute." The special report followed a Marine major who has the difficult task of making death notifications and of helping families begin to face life after loss. And while there was tremendous satisfaction in the awards, there was also a keen sense of respect for the Marines who never came home - and their families. "We're going to have some glasses of champagne to toast Todd and Jim and also to honor the courage of the families that we wrote about and photographed," said Rocky Mountain News Editor, President and Publisher John Temple, a catch in his voice. "This is an incredible moment for these two journalists and this newspaper." "Final Salute," published on Veterans Day, chronicled a year in the life of Marine Maj. Steve Beck, the casualty assistance calls officer for Colorado and parts of four other states, and several families who lost loved ones in Iraq. Beck was in the newsroom for the announcement, and later in the afternoon he was joined by the loved ones of two Marines who lost their lives in Iraq. Sheeler and Heisler paid respect to those families. "For the families to have let us come along with them through the process - it's a gift that we still hold incredibly dear and that we'll never forget, and we hope that the readers won't," Sheeler said. Heisler said that while a Pulitzer is the prize every journalist strives for, "that's not what it's about." "What it's about," he said, "is the reaction of families and that they see that their experience was portrayed accurately and sensitively, and that's what means the most to me." Several of those in the story also spoke. "It's nice to know that our husbands and sons won't be forgotten," said Terry Cooper, the mother of the first Colorado casualty of the war in Iraq, Marine Lance Cpl. -Thomas Slocum. The Pulitzer board cited Sheeler for what it called a "poignant story." It called Heisler's photographs "haunting." They were the third and fourth Pulitzers won by the News. In 2000, the newspaper won in breaking news photography for coverage of the tragedy at Columbine High. The News won a second breaking-news- photography Pulitzer in 2003 for its coverage of Colorado's devastating wildfires the previous year. The Pulitzers are the most coveted prizes in journalism, and winners are forever identified with the honor. In recent weeks, trade publications had carried reports putting Heisler and Sheeler in the running for the prizes. A few minutes before 1 p.m. Monday, News editors and reporters gathered around two computers in the center of the newsroom, waiting for the announcements, which come one at a time from Columbia University in New York. As each prize popped up on The Associated Press wire, Managing Editor Deb Goeken or Design Director Kathy Bogan called out the winner and the category. At 1:06, the prize for fiction, to Geraldine Brooks for March, was announced. Then, just a moment later, another bulletin flashed on the computer screen. Goeken and Bogan shouted in unison: "Jim Sheeler!" A roar erupted, and as the applause continued, Temple and other editors hugged Sheeler. During the next several minutes, more prizes were announced. Then, at 1:10, Goeken saw another bulletin. "Todd Heisler!" she shouted, and the newsroom erupted again. Sheeler and Heisler, who spent months working together on "Final Salute," shared a long hug. Heisler hugged and kissed his wife, Kelly, and both men shared warm embraces with Beck. "At the happiest times - and this is a very happy time - it's very important to remember that our responsibility was really to live up to the challenge of honoring and respecting the people we wrote about," Temple said. "And I don't think there's a greater compliment that I could pay to Todd and Jim - that they treated the people they wrote about with the respect and commitment that they deserved. "And I want to say, as we celebrate your happiness and the incredible achievement, we remember the courage of those families and the courage of the people who fought for this country and lost their lives and were honored by Jim and Todd." Later in the afternoon, Temple again gathered the staff in the newsroom. This time, Beck was joined by Katherine Cathey, whose husband, 2nd Lt. James Cathey, was killed in Iraq in August; by their son, 4- month-old Jimmy Cathey; by Katherine's parents, Vic and Vicki Leonard; and by Cooper. Katherine Cathey remembered the first night she met Sheeler and Heisler - and that she appreciated them coming to her home "and listening to what I had to say about my husband." "They made a lot of sacrifices, too, so that everybody would have a very clear picture of what the families had to go through," she said through tears as Jimmy fidgeted in her lap. "These two awards couldn't have been given to anybody other than these two guys." Vic Leonard called "Final Salute" a "story that needed to be told, and it was told very artfully and sensitively." "I only hope that we take this story out and read it before we go to war next time," he said. Beck explained why stories like "Final Salute" are important. "They have an element of perfection to them," he said. "It's kind of like the perfect chord or the perfect pitch that you hear from 3 feet away that gives you goosebumps, that touches your imperfect soul and reminds you of your humanity, who you are as an individual, who you are as a people and who you are as a nation." Other 2006 Pulitzer winners JOURNALISM • Public service (two prizes): The Sun Herald, of south Mississippi; and The Times-Picayune of New Orleans. • Breaking news reporting: Staff of The Times-Picayune, of New Orleans. • Investigative reporting: Susan Schmidt, James V. Grimaldi and R. Jeffrey Smith, of The Washington Post. • Explanatory reporting: David Finkel, of The Washington Post. • Beat reporting: Dana Priest, of The Washington Post. • National reporting (two prizes): James Risen and Eric Lichtblau, of The New York Times; and the staffs of The San Diego Union-Tribune and Copley News Service. • International reporting: Joseph Kahn and Jim Yardley, of The New York Times. • Commentary: Nicholas D. Kristof, of The New York Times. • Criticism: Robin Givhan, of The Washington Post. • Editorial writing: Rick Attig and Doug Bates, of The (Portland) Oregonian. • Editorial cartooning: Mike Luckovich, of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. • Breaking news photography: Staff of The Dallas Morning News. ARTS • Fiction: March, by Geraldine Brooks (Viking) • Drama: No Award • History: Polio: An American Story, by David M. Oshinsky (Oxford University Press) • Biography: American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin (Alfred A. Knopf) • Poetry: Late Wife, by Claudia Emerson (Louisiana State University Press) • General nonfiction: Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya, by Caroline Elkins (Henry Holt) MUSIC • Piano Concerto: Chiavi in Mano, by Yehudi Wyner (Associated Music Publishers) SPECIAL CITATIONS • Edmund S. Morgan, honored for "his creative and deeply influential body of work as an American historian that spans the last half century." • Thelonious Monk, honored posthumously for "a body of distinguished and innovative musical composition that has had a significant and enduring impact on the evolution of jazz." Final Salute online • To see the presentation as it originally appeared in print, and to watch a special online audio-visual presentation, go to RockyMountain News.com Also online: • The photo package that was submitted to the Pulitzer committee • Video from the Rocky's newsroom after the prize was announced • Photo presentations from the Rocky's previous Pulitzer Prizes • A list of all 2006 Pulitzer Prize winners "Final Salute" credits "Final Salute" was written by Jim Sheeler and photographed by Todd Heisler, but many other Rocky Mountain News journalists contributed to the special section. • The story was edited by Jim Trotter, assistant managing editor/news, and the photographs were edited by Janet Reeves, director of photography. • Columnist Mike Littwin assisted with story editing. • The special section was designed by Steve Miller, the copy editor was John Moore and the final read was done by Tim Burroughs. • The Internet presentation was supervised by Mike Noe, interactive editor, and produced by Forrest Stewart and Sonya Doctorian, with assistance from Brian Maurice-Snider. • The photos were prepared for publication by Matthew Roberts, with support from Jay Kinghorn. • City Editor Tonia Twichell and Design Director Kathy Bogan also contributed to the project. Copyright 2006, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved. |
