Matt Apuzzo, a Reynolds Center presenter, and Michael J. Berens, a 2011 winner of the Barlett & Steele Awards for Investigative Reporting, have each won the Pulitzer Prize for their investigative work.
Apuzzo and his Associated Press’ colleagues, Adam Goldman, Eileen Sullivan and Chris Hawley, grabbed an Investigative Reporting Pulitzer Prize for their probe into the New York Police Department’s secret intelligence operations. The department launched the spying program after the Sept. 11 attacks and the series revealed undercover officers dispatched in minority neighborhoods.
Michael J. Berens and Ken Armstrong of The Seattle Times were also awarded a Pulitzer in the investigative reporting category for their three-part series “Methadone and the Politics of Pain.” The in-depth reports detail how the state opted to prescribe the painkiller methadone, ignoring the drugs’ risks, to cut costs. The investigation found more than 2,000 residents died after overdosing on methadone.
The Associated Press and The Seattle Times’ pieces were just two stories highlighted in a line-up of impressive journalism honored in this year’s Pulitzer Prizes. The full list of winners, along with their work, is on the Pulitzer’s website.
Apuzzo, an investigative reporter at the AP, has led training sessions for the Reynolds Center on in-depth business reporting.
Michael J. Berens won third-place in the Reynolds Center’s 2011 Barlett & Steele Awards for Investigative Business Journalism for his series “Seniors for Sale,” which detailed the abuse of seniors living in adult family homes.