4 Newspapers Grab 2 Pulitzers Each

The Oregonian of Portland won two Pulitzer Prizes on Monday, including public service for its examination of systematic problems with the U.S. immigration agency. Other double winners were the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

In the arts, the Pulitzer Prize for drama went to David Auburn for his play "Proof," a family saga about a young woman haunted by the mental collapse of her father.

The award for biography went to David Levering Lewis for the second volume of his biography of civil rights leader W.E.B. Du Bois, "W.E.B. Du Bois: The Fight for Equality and The American Century, 1919-1963."

In journalism, two prizes were awarded in international reporting. Ian Johnson of the Wall Street Journal won for stories about the Chinese government's suppression of the Falun Gong movement. Paul Salopek of the Chicago Tribune won for reporting on political strife and disease in Africa.

It's rare that the Pulitzer committee awards two prizes in one category. The last time it happened in international reporting was in 1993 for stories about the Bosnian conflict.

The Pulitzer Prizes are the premier awards for U.S. journalism.

In breaking news reporting, The Miami Herald won for its coverage of the pre-dawn raid by federal agents who took custody of Cuban boy Elian Gonzalez. The story also produced the breaking news photography award for Alan Diaz of the Associated Press, for his photo of a federal agent in riot gear confronting a man holding Elian in a closet.

For investigative reporting, David Willman of the Los Angeles Times won for his expose of unsafe drugs that had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

For explanatory reporting, the staff of the Chicago Tribune won for "Gateway to Gridlock" about the American air traffic system.

The beat reporting Pulitzer went to David Cay Johnston of The New York Times for exposing loopholes and inequities in the U.S. tax code. The Times also won for national reporting for its series on race in America.

The feature writing prize went to Tom Hallman Jr. of The Oregonian for a profile of a facially disfigured teen-ager who underwent surgery.

The commentary award went to Dorothy Rabinowitz of The Wall Street Journal for articles on American society and culture.

Pulitzer Prize administrator Seymour Topping said Rabinowitz was not one of the three finalists selected by the Pulitzer jury. He said the Pulitzer board, which makes the final decisions, sought "a broader choice" and the jury offered Rabinowitz as an alternate selection.

"It is a rare occurrence," Topping said.

The criticism prize went to Gail Caldwell of The Boston Globe for her observations on contemporary life and literature.

In editorial writing, David Moats of the Rutland (Vermont) Herald won for his editorials on civil unions for gay couples.

The editorial cartooning prize went to Ann Telnaes of the Los Angeles Times Syndicate.

The Pulitzer for feature photograhy went to Matt Rainey of The Star-Ledger of Newark, New Jersey, for his emotional photographs of the care and recovery of two students burned in a fire at Seton Hall University.

In The Arts:

"Proof," which debuted off-Broadway last May, was considered one of the favorites for the honor, along with three-time Pulitzer winner Edward Albee's "The Play About the Baby."

The biography award captured David Levering Lewis was an unusual triumph. His prize marked the first time that the second volume of a previous Pulitzer winner also won the award. Lewis's first volume on Du Bois, covering his life from 1868-1919, won in 1994.

"Thank goodness I'm sitting down," Lewis said from Manhattan. "This is a total surprise. I had been working on a speech I was going to give at Harvard, but I think I'm going to set that aside and stand on my balcony for a while."

The Pulitzer for history went to Joseph J. Ellis for his book, "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation." Ellis, a professor of history at Mount Holyoke College, has written five other books on the American Revolution.

The Pulitzer for fiction was awarded to Michael Chabon for "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay," a fanciful tale about comic books. His wife began screaming "Michael! Michael!" after receiving word of his prize at their Berkeley, Calif., home.

"Did I really win?" asked Chabon, a runner-up in the 2000 National Book Critics Circle and PEN/Faulkner Awards. "I had kind of figured it was not my year. My goodness, this is exciting."

Stephen Dunn won the poetry prize for his volume of original verses, "Different Hours," his 11th collection.

The Pulitzer for general non-fiction was awarded to Herbert P. Bix for "Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan." Bix, widely published in the world of Asian study, provoked a rethinking of the Japanese emperor's role in the 20th century, particularly during World War II, with his work.

The music prize was given to John Corigliano for "Symphony No. 2 for String Orchestra." The winning piece was a rearrangement of a string quartet he wrote in 1995.

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