By: Stan Tiner, executive editor and vice president of The Sun Herald in Biloxi, Miss., says the newsroom celebration for the paper's Pulitzer Prize in the Public Service category was slightly subdued, partly out of respect for the circumstances that inspired the prize-winning coverage: "So many in the newsroom suffered such great personal loss, as did our readers."
In the days following the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, the paper kept residents informed and helped connect bereft people with many basic necessities. "Every day wasn't just another day," Tiner reflects. "Every paper we printed was important to keeping people going down here and to keeping people informed elsewhere."
Meanwhile, more than 100 Sun Herald staffers operated out of a camper city, set up in part by Knight Ridder's logistical team. The paper distributed 80,000 copies for free for six weeks following Katrina, refusing to break its 121-year tradition of never missing a single day.
The paper also quickly swung from detached objectivism toward advocacy. Front-page editorials, which were previously uncommon, are now regular occurrences - and they've grown edgier, speaking for the frustrated community.
Now Tiner hopes the Sun Herald's first Pulitzer will draw attention to the southern Mississippi communities that still badly need state and federal help.
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