The Charlotte Observer wrote the following after it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service on March 31, 1988:
“The Charlotte Observer won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for meritorious public service Thursday for revealing misuse of funds by Jim and Tammy Bakker`s PTL television ministry.
….Longtime Observer editorial cartoonist Doug Marlette, who now works for the Atlanta Constitution, also won a Pulitzer, for work he did at both newspapers.
Thursday, as the 3 p.m. announcement of Pulitzer winners approached, Observer staff members stopped typing at computer terminals and put down their telephones to await the news. They climbed onto desks and leaned over terminals in anticipation.
At 2:50 p.m., assistant managing editor Bob De Piante called New York`s Columbia University School of Journalism, which gives Pulitzer prizes in 14 categories each year, to find out if The Observer was among the winners.
At precisely 3 p.m., De Piante confirmed what everyone was expecting, and his voice was drowned in cheers and applause….”
A story from The Miami Herald:
“Amid champagne spray and a downpour of confetti, The Miami Herald’s editors and reporters on Thursday celebrated the awarding of two Pulitzer Prizes — one for columnist Dave Barry’s offbeat essays on American society and another for Michel duCille’s shattering photographs of a cocaine-devastated neighborhood.
….Addressing a clamorous throng of colleagues Thursday, Barry quickly showcased his usual sense of sober decorum.
‘I’m really glad that I won this, although now that I have, it will probably be a lot less prestigious for the rest of you later on,’ Barry said.
For duCille, it was his second Pulitzer in three years. In 1986, the 32-year-old Jamaica native shared journalism’s top honor with Herald photographer Carol Guzy for their pictures of the aftermath of a volcanic eruption in Colombia.
‘I’ve been in the newspaper business for seven or eight years and this is the first time I did something that had some very, very tangible results,’ said duCille, flecked from head to toe with colorful confetti.
‘It’s just fantastic to do some work and see the changes that occur,’ he said.”
The Pulitzer Prize website has listed all of the 1988 awards:
JOURNALISM
Public Service
The Charlotte Observer for revealing misuse of funds by the PTL television ministry through persistent coverage conducted in the face of a massive campaign by PTL to discredit the newspaper.
General News Reporting
Staff of Lawrence (MA) Eagle-Tribune for an investigation that revealed serious flaws in the Massachusetts prison furlough system and led to significant statewide reforms.
Staff of The Alabama Journal, Montgomery, AL for its compelling investigation of the state’s unusually high infant-mortality rate, which prompted legislation to combat the problem.
Investigative Reporting
Dean Baquet, William Gaines and Ann Marie Lipinski of Chicago Tribune for their detailed reporting on the self-interest and waste that plague Chicago’s City Council.
Explanatory Journalism
Daniel Hertzberg and James B. Stewart of The Wall Street Journal for their stories about an investment banker charged with insider trading and the critical day that followed the October 19, 1987, stock market crash.
Specialized Reporting
Walt Bogdanich of The Wall Street Journal for his chilling series of reports on faulty testing by American medical laboratories.
National Reporting
Tim Weiner of The Philadelphia Inquirer for his series of reports on a secret Pentagon budget used by the government to sponsor defense research and an arms buildup.
International Reporting
Thomas L. Friedman of The New York Times for balanced and informed coverage of Israel.
Feature Writing
Jacqui Banaszynski of St. Paul Pioneer Press Dispatch for her moving series about the life and death of an AIDS victim in a rural farm community.
Commentary
Dave Barry of The Miami Herald for his consistently effective use of humor as a device for presenting fresh insights into serious concerns.
Criticism
Tom Shales of The Washington Post for his television criticism.
Editorial Writing
Jane Healy of Orlando Sentinel for her series of editorials protesting overdevelopment of Florida’s Orange County.
Editorial Cartooning
Doug Marlette of The Atlanta Constitution and Charlotte Observer
Spot News Photography
Scott Shaw of Odessa (TX) American for his photograph of the child Jessica McClure being rescued from the well into which she had fallen.
Feature Photography
Michel du Cille of The Miami Herald for photographs portraying the decay and subsequent rehabilitation of a housing project overrun by the drug crack.
LETTERS, DRAMA, AND MUSIC
Fiction
Beloved by Toni Morrison (Alfred A. Knopf)
Drama
Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhry
History
The Launching of Modern American Science 1846-1876 by Robert V. Bruce (Alfred A. Knopf)
Biography or Autobiography
Look Homeward: A Life of Thomas Wolfe by David Herbert Donald (Little)
Poetry
Partial Accounts: New and Selected Poems by William Meredith (Alfred A. Knopf)
General Nonfiction
The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes (Simon and Schuster)
Music
12 New Etudes for Piano by William Bolcom
First complete performance by Marc-Andre Hamelin, pianist, on March 30, 1987 at Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa.Read more