2002 Pulitzer Prizes Announced

The New York Times won a record seven Pulitzer Prizes on Monday, including the public service award for "A Nation Challenged," a daily stand-alone section on the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the war in Afghanistan.

The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times each won two of journalism's most prestigious awards in a year when eight of the 14 journalism prizes went to coverage of the attacks and their aftermath.

In awarding the 2002 public service prize, the Pulitzer Board said The New York Times "coherently and comprehensively covered the tragic events, profiled the victims and tracked the developing story, locally and globally."

In breaking news reporting, the staff of The Wall Street Journal won for its coverage of the attacks on the World Trade Center under the most difficult of circumstances, when the newsroom - in the shadows of the twin towers - was evacuated.

Jim Pensiero, vice president of the Journal, was subdued about the award, which followed the Jan. 23 abduction and subsequent slaying of Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan.

"We were across the street from the trade center. We're still not back in our offices, and in covering the story one of our reporters was murdered," he said. "A lot of lives were disrupted. We at the Journal suffered a lot less than people in the trade center itself, but it's been a disruption and a difficult year for us. It's very nice to be recognized in the industry."

The staff of The New York Times won the explanatory reporting award for its coverage before and after the Sept. 11 attacks that profiled the global terrorism network and the threats it posed.

In international reporting, Barry Bearak of the Times won for what the Pulitzer Board called his "deeply affecting and illuminating coverage" of daily life in war-torn Afghanistan.

The newspaper also won both photography awards.

The breaking news award recognized the paper's "consistently outstanding photographic coverage of the terrorist attack on New York City and its aftermath," the Pulitzer Board said in announcing the prestigious prizes at Columbia University.

The feature photography award was given to the Times staff for pictures "chronicling the pain and the perseverance of people enduring protracted conflicts in Afghanistan and Pakistan," the board said.

In commentary, the Times' Thomas Friedman won for his columns on the worldwide impact of the terrorist threat.

For national reporting, the staff of The Washington Post won for comprehensive coverage of the war on terrorism.

For beat reporting, Gretchen Morgenson of The New York Times won for her coverage of Wall Street that the judges called "trenchant and incisive."

In investigative reporting, three writers for The Washington Post won for a series that exposed the District of Columbia's role in the neglect and deaths of 229 children placed in protective care. The series prompted an overhaul of the city's child welfare system.

Barry Siegel of the Los Angeles Times won for feature writing for what the board called his "humane and haunting" portrait of a man tried for negligence in the death of his son, and the unusual connection of the judge to the case.

In editorial writing, Alex Raksin and Bob Sipchen of the Los Angeles newspaper won for their "powerfully written editorials exploring the issues and dilemmas provoked by mentally ill people dwelling on the streets."

The editorial cartooning prize went to Clay Bennett of The Christian Science Monitor.

Justin Davidson of Newsday, a Long Island, New York-based newspaper, won prize for Criticism for his "crisp coverage of classical music," the board said.

Pulitzer's were also announced in seven arts categories.

The 2002 Pulitzer Prize for drama was awarded to Suzan-Lori Parks for "Topdog/Underdog," a two-character play touching on themes of family wounds and healing.

The play, an off-Broadway hit last summer, made its official Broadway debut on Sunday night to rave reviews. It tells the story of black brothers named Lincoln and Booth.

The prize for biography went to David McCullough for "John Adams."

It was McCullough's second Pulitzer; his first was for "Truman" in 1993. He beat out finalists former President Jimmy Carter, for his book, "An Hour Before Daylight: Memories of a Rural Boyhood," and biographer Jean Edward Smith for "Grant."

McCullough won on his wife Rosalee's birthday.

"It couldn't have happened on a more appropriate day, given that she's been so much involved all along," McCullough said from his home at West Tisbury, Mass.

In the fiction category, the Pulitzer was awarded to Richard Russo for "Empire Falls."

Russo, who lives in Maine with his wife and two daughters, won the prize over best-selling National Book Award winner "The Corrections," by Jonathan Franzen.

Franzen made headlines when he balked at accepting Oprah Winfrey's endorsement as a selection for her book club.

The Pulitzer for general nonfiction went to Diane McWhorter for "Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama, the Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution."

"Oh my God," she said upon receiving word of the prize. "I'm fainting now, lying on my bed. I've got my hands over my eyes."

McWhorter won for her first book. The native of Birmingham, who now lives in New York, is a longtime contributor to The New York Times and writes for the op-ed page of USA Today.

"I am probably the first person in the world to say, `I'm so lucky to be from Birmingham, Alabama,"' she said.

The poetry award went to Carl Dennis for "Practical Gods."

The history prize went to Louis Menand for "The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America." Menand is an English professor at the City University of New York graduate center and a staff writer at the New Yorker.

`I'm totally pleased," Menand said.

The prize for music was captured by Henry Brant, for "Ice Field." The Canadian-born Brant is a pioneer of spatial music, in which the instruments are dispersed around the concert hall. He has written more than 100 works widely performed in the United States and Europe.

The prizes are awarded by Columbia University on the recommendation of the 18-member Pulitzer board, which considers nominations from jurors in each category.