1997 Finalists

Public Service

Los Angeles Times

For its probe of murder cases in Los Angeles County, which revealed inefficiency and mismanagement in the justice system.

The Philadelphia Inquirer

For a series by Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele chronicling the widening gap between the affluent and the poor at a time when Americans are being told that the economy is more prosperous than ever.

Spot News Reporting

Staff of The Philadelphia Inquirer

For its powerful narrative coverage of the armed confrontation between police and philanthropist John DuPont following a murder at his estate.

Staff of The St. Petersburg Times

For its thorough and balanced reporting of the circumstances surrounding the shooting of a young black man by a white police officer and the rioting that followed.

Investigative Reporting

Jim Haner of The Baltimore Sun

For engendering regulatory reform through dogged reporting, which revealed that housing officials in the city owned neglected inner-city properties.

Staff of The Boston Globe

For its expose of abuse of disability benefits by retired public employees, prompting reform of the Massachusetts pension system.

Explanatory Journalism

John Crewdson of Chicago Tribune

For a series of reports that illustrated through dramatic examples the need for training of personnel and installation of special equipment by U.S. airlines to cope with medical emergencies in the air.

Gregory Kane and Gilbert Lewthwaite of The Baltimore Sun

For their portrait of the complex practices of slavery in the Sudan.

Beat Reporting

Craig Flournoy of The Dallas Morning News

For his coverage of low-income housing programs, including the disclosure that Dallas officials had misspent or failed to utilize millions of federal dollars allocated for impoverished areas.

Celia W. Dugger of The New York Times

For her coverage of the plight of a young African woman who was jailed by U.S. immigration officials after she fled her homeland and its tribal rite of genital mutilation to seek asylum in the country, which prompted worldwide reaction.

National Reporting

Bill Moushey of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

For his resourceful reporting on the federal Witness Protection Program illustrating how the program's secrecy and lack of oversight has led to abuses and risks to the public.

Ronald Brownstein of Los Angeles Times

For his comprehensive political coverage during the presidential election year.

International Reporting

Tony Freemantle of Houston Chronicle

For his reporting from Rwanda, South Africa, El Salvador and Guatemala on why crimes against humanity go unstopped and unpunished.

Staff of Chicago Tribune

For its global examination of overpopulation illustrated by struggling families who continue to bear children they cannot afford.

Feature Writing

Jeffrey Fleishman of The Philadelphia Inquirer

For his versatile storytelling, notably including an account of the flight of 15 Buddhist monks from Tibet through the Himalayas.

Julia Prodis of Associated Press

For her trio of vivid stories about three teenagers on a deadly journey, a photograph from the Oklahoma City bombing, and a vacuum cleaner that catches prairie dogs.

Commentary

Tony Kornheiser of The Washington Post

For his evocative columns ranging from sports and politics to tales of heroes and fools.

Deborah Work of Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, FL

For speaking out in highly personal yet broadly relevant columns in roles as diverse as parent, citizen, critic and philosopher.

Criticism

Herbert Muschamp of The New York Times

For his criticism of architecture in America, written with devotion to the art, penetrating analysis and literate style.

Leslie Savan of The Village Voice, New York, NY

For her analytical columns about the forces at work behind advertising and consumerism, particularly on television.

Editorial Writing

Margaretta Downey of Poughkeepsie (NY) Journal

For her editorials pressing for a civic agenda of economic and educational renewal.

Peter Milius of The Washington Post

For his editorials dissecting federal welfare reform legislation, directing attention to the problems of the poor and powerless.

Editorial Cartooning

Chip Bok of Akron Beacon Journal

Jeff MacNelly of Chicago Tribune

Spot News Photography

Corinne Dufka of Reuters

For her chilling photograph of the execution of a Liberian prisoner on the streets of Monrovia.

Alexander Zemlianichenko of Associated Press

For his photograph of Russian President Boris Yeltsin dancing at a rock concert during his campaign for re-election. (Originally submitted in Feature Photography and returned by the Board to that category.)

Feature Photography

Jeffrey L. Brown of Copley Chicago Newspapers

For his series of photographs chronicling an illegal immigrant's clandestine journey from Mexico to the United States.

Jon Kral of The Miami Herald

For his photographs documenting the horrifying conditions in Venezuelan prisons.

Michele McDonald of The Boston Globe

For her photographs of a woman with terminal breast cancer preparing for her death