2003 Finalists

Public Service

The Detroit News

For the work of Norman Sinclair, Ronald Hansen and Melvin Claxton that revealed dangerous defects and spurred changes in a criminal justice system that allowed lawbreakers to get away with everything from petty theft to murder.

Pensacola (FL) News Journal

For its uncommon courage in publishing stories that exposed a culture of corruption in Escambia County, Fla., and resulted in the indictment of four of five county commissioners.

Breaking News Reporting

Staff of The Baltimore Sun

For its compelling and comprehensive coverage of the sniper killings that terrorized the Washington-Baltimore region.

Staff of The Seattle Times

For its enterprising coverage of the many local connections to the ex-soldier and his teenage companion arrested in the sniper attacks in the Washington, D.C. region.

Investigative Reporting

Alan Miller and Kevin Sack of Los Angeles Times

For their revelatory and moving examination of a military aircraft, nicknamed "The Widow Maker," that was linked to the deaths of 45 pilots. (Moved by the Board to the National Reporting category, where it was also entered.)

Staff of The Seattle Times

For its outstanding blend of investigation and evocative storytelling that showed how a footloose Algerian boy evolved into a terrorist.

Explanatory Reporting

Jim Haner, John B. O'Donnell and Kimberly A. C. Wilson of The Baltimore Sun

For "Justice Undone," their in-depth examination of the city's disturbingly low conviction rate in murder cases.

Staff of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

For its painstaking explanation of chroni'wasting disease among deer in Wisconsin, and the impact of the affliction on the state's citizens, communities and culture.

Beat Reporting

Cameron W. Barr of The Christian Science Monitor

For the extraordinary clarity, diversity and context in his ongoing coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

David Cay Johnston of The New York Times

For his stories that displayed exquisite command of complicated U.S. tax laws and of how corporations and invidiuals twist them to their advantage.

National Reporting

Staff of Chicago Tribune

For its engrossing exploration of the fall of Arthur Andersen, a once proud accounting firm.

Anne Hull of The Washington Post

For "Rim of the New World," her masterful accounts of young immigrants coming of age in the American South.

Staff of The New York Times

For its tenaciously reported and clearly written stories that exposed and explained corruption in corporate America.

International Reporting

Alix M. Freedman and Steve Stecklow of The Wall Street Journal

For their remarkable reports revealing little-known ways that Saddam Hussein profited from the United Nations sanctions meant to punish him.

R.C. Longworth of Chicago Tribune

For "A Fraying Alliance," his perceptive series on emerging tensions between the United States and Europe.

Feature Writing

Connie Schultz of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OH

For her moving story about a wrongfully convicted man who refused to succumb to anger or bitterness.

David Stabler of The Oregonian, Portland, OR

For his sensitive, sometimes surprising chronicle of a teenage prodigy's struggle with a musical talent that proved to be both a gift and a problem.

Commentary

Edward Achorn of The Providence Journal

For his clear, tenacious call to action against government corruption in Rhode Island.

Mark Holmberg of Richmond Times-Dispatch

For his thought provoking, strongly reported columns on a broad range of topics.

Criticism

John King of San Francisco Chronicle

For his perceptive, passionate criticism of architecture and urban design and their impact on life in his city.

Nicolai Ouroussoff of Los Angeles Times

For his commanding reviews and essays on architectural development and preservation in an ever-evolving city.

Editorial Writing

Robert L. Pollock of The Wall Street Journal

For his clear, compelling editorials on the Food and Drug Administration's delay in approval of new cancer drugs.

Linda Valdez of The Arizona Republic Phoenix

For her passionate, persuasive editorials on illegal immigrants and on the state's flawed justice of the peace courts.

Editorial Cartooning

Rex Babin of The Sacramento Bee

For his arresting cartoons on a broad range of subjects, drawn with simple eye-catching imagery.

Clay Bennett of The Christian Science Monitor

For his provocative portfolio of cartoons marked by clarity and simplicity.

Breaking News Photography

Carolyn Cole of Los Angeles Times

For her extraordinarily intimate depiction of the siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

Photography Staff of The Washington Times

For its vivid capturing of the events and emotions stirred by the sniper killings in the Washington, D.C., region.

Feature Photography

Matt Black, freelance photographer of Los Angeles Times

For his striking images that documented the little known legacy of black sharecroppers who migrated to California's San Joaquin Valley during the Depression.

Brad Clift of Hartford Courant

For "Heroin Town," his dramatic pictures that spotlighted heroin addiction in a Connecticut city and helped produce positive change.