Quotes from 2010 Pulitzer Prize winners in journalism and the arts

Quotes from 2010 Pulitzer Prize winners

Reaction from Pulitzer Prize winners:

“A hell of an honor.” — Daniel Gilbert, winner of the public service Pulitzer for the Bristol (Va.) Herald Courier.

“It was a team effort. We’re all really honored by it. We set out to inform the community about a really tragic event at a time they really needed it,” Steve Miletich, winner of breaking news Pulitzer for The Seattle Times’ coverage of the shooting deaths of four police officers in a coffee house.

“We’re so proud of the terrific, terrific journalism they do. They were able to give a voice to the voiceless, to give a voice to people who were too intimidated to speak out.” — Brian Tierney, publisher of the Philadelphia Daily News, on reporters Barbara Laker and Wendy Ruderman, who won the investigative reporting prize for their work exposing a rogue police narcotics squad.

“We’re here to take note of the fact that the death of journalism has been greatly exaggerated. It is alive and well and feisty, especially at The New York Times.” — Bill Keller, executive editor of the Times, which won Pulitzers for national reporting, explanatory journalism and investigative reporting.

“We’ve had five or six stories that have been honored in different places. I think taken together, this plus other things is a moment that says that model … works. It is a validation.” — Stephen Engelberg, managing editor for ProPublica, fledgling investigative news service that won the investigative reporting Pulitzer.

“There’s a sense in the United States that the war is over. … Just because we declare the conflict over doesn’t mean it’s ended,” Anthony Shadid of The Washington Post, who won the international reporting prize for his series on Iraq.

“Thank God for Ian Fisher, he and his family, it’s their story. … If they had not been that willing to share their lives the way they did, warts and all, this wouldn’t have happened.” — Craig F. Walker of The Denver Post, who won the feature photography prize for the series, “Ian Fisher: American Soldier.”

“It was never really one of my goals to win this prize. It’s definitely not a bad thing to have happen.” — Mary Chind, The Des Moines Register, who won for breaking news photography.

“I’m very thrilled. I know people liked the book, the fact that they have recognized it as a work of scholarship is doubly rewarding.” — Liaquat Ahamed, who won the history prize for his book “Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World.”

“That was just absolutely nuts and insane because you don’t ever expect that.” — Raquel Rutledge of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who won for local reporting.

“While I am really flattered when people say we have changed the form of musicals, I don’t know if that is true. Certainly the show is adventurous. But, ironically, the other side is that this is a show about real people and what they are going through, exploring their pains and also their joys on a level that musicals don’t often do.” — Brian Yorkey, who won the drama prize for “Next to Normal.”

“My goal was to show the history of the end of the Cold War through both sides — the U.S. side and the Soviet side. I really felt that especially the Soviet side of the story hadn’t been well told because we didn’t know.” — David E. Hoffman, winner of the general nonfiction prize for his book, “The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous Legacy.”

“I worked on it for 5-6 years and actually tried to have it published, but couldn’t find an agent or a publisher. From the moment I saw one copy in between two covers, it was all gravy from there.” — Paul Harding, who won the fiction prize for his book “Tinkers.”

“I worked on my book for about seven years and I had no idea it would be so timely when it was published.” — T.J. Stiles, who won the biography prize for “The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt.”

“I’m having kind of an unreal year.” — Jennifer Higdon, who won the music prize for “Violin Concerto.”

“People are starting to acknowledge the direction the media is going. This is a good sign that we’ll continue to deliver satire and news and opinion in new and different ways. Why be limited by the medium? I hope that there are more cartoonists and people who are willing to try something new.” — Mark Fiore, self-syndicated online editorial cartoonist, who won for his animated cartoons appearing on SFGate.com, the San Francisco Chronicle Web site.