Alumni take home Pulitzer Prizes

Three University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni earned the Pulitzer Prize, writing’s most coveted award, the Pulitzer board announced Monday (April 5). A UW–Madison faculty member was a finalist for general nonfiction.

Anthony Shadid, who received a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1990, won in the international reporting category for his coverage of the war and aftermath in Iraq. In a news release, Columbia University, which gives out the awards, noted Shadid’s “extraordinary ability to capture, at personal peril, the voices and emotions of Iraqis as their country was invaded, their leader toppled and their way of life upended.”

Katy Culver, a faculty member in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, says Shadid is slated to be part of the school’s centennial celebration in the coming year and will deliver the noted Nafziger Lecture in the fall.

“Anthony embodies what journalism at Wisconsin has always been about,” Culver says. “His appreciation for history and politics, as well as his fluency in Arabic, speak to his understanding that reporting is about more than craft. It is about giving an audience deeper insight into the world around them.”

Alumna Abigail Goldman of the Los Angeles Times won for distinguished reporting on national affairs. She was part of a four-person team that reported on Wal-Mart’s business tactics in the three-part series “The Wal-Mart Effect.” Goldman, who graduated in 1992 with a degree in political science and history, was a Daily Cardinal campus editor in 1990-91. She also won the 2004 George Polk Award for Economics Reporting for the Wal-Mart series.

Another UW–Madison alumnus, Lowell Bergman, won the Pulitzer Prize for public service along with New York Times colleague David Barstow. Bergman, a former “60 Minutes” producer who received bachelor’s degrees in history and sociology from UW–Madison in 1966, was the subject of the 1999 film “The Insider,” which starred Al Pacino in the role of Bergman.

Steven Nadler, UW–Madison professor of philosophy and director of the Center for Jewish Studies, was a finalist in general nonfiction for his book, “Rembrandt’s Jews” (2003: University of Chicago Press). The book examines Amsterdam’s remarkable 17th-century Jewish community, the artist’s relationship with its residents and his depictions of them.

Columbia University gives the awards on the recommendation of the 18-member Pulitzer board, which considers nominations from jurors in each category. For information, visit http://www.pulitzer.org/.