Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Pullitzer Prize 2005 - Investigative Reporting - Sexual Misconduct or Abuse?
From the Pullitzer site:
From the Jaquiss article that won the prize:
I was struck by the use of the term "sexual misconduct" in the Pullitzer website description. Is planned murder a mild maneuver misconduct with a gun? Is purposely running over someone in the street a vehicle misconduct? I don't have time to read the article now, but it sounds like this is one more example where this whitewashing term ("sexual misconduct") was employed. Specially since the introduction of the article seems to spell out sexual abuse (which does not need to include physical violence nor intercourse to be seriously harmful).
On the Willamette Week site, the header says:
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For a distinguished example of investigative reporting by an individual or team, presented as a single article or series, Ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
Awarded to Nigel Jaquiss of Willamette Week, Portland, Ore., for his investigation exposing a former governor's long concealed sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old girl.
Also nominated as finalists in this category were: Diana B. Henriques of The New York Times for her revelations that thousands of vulnerable American soldiers were exploited by some insurance companies, investment firms and lenders, and Clark Kauffman of The Des Moines Register for his exposure of glaring injustice in the handling of traffic tickets by public officials.
From the Jaquiss article that won the prize:
When the story of late-20th-century Oregon is written, Neil Goldschmidt will tower over most other public figures. His accomplishments as mayor and governor have stood the test of time.
It is also true, however, that his incomprehensible involvement with an adolescent babysitter changed both of their lives forever and—although few people knew about it—the secret profoundly affected Oregon history. No one can say with certainty how much of the arc of the woman’s life was shaped by the man who molested her starting when she was 14. But it is clear that today, on her 43rd birthday, living a thousand miles from her friends and family in Portland, she is a haunted woman.
I was struck by the use of the term "sexual misconduct" in the Pullitzer website description. Is planned murder a mild maneuver misconduct with a gun? Is purposely running over someone in the street a vehicle misconduct? I don't have time to read the article now, but it sounds like this is one more example where this whitewashing term ("sexual misconduct") was employed. Specially since the introduction of the article seems to spell out sexual abuse (which does not need to include physical violence nor intercourse to be seriously harmful).
On the Willamette Week site, the header says:
WW REPORTER WINS TOP PRIZE: Willamette Week reporter Nigel Jaquiss won the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting on Monday. Jaquiss won journalism's top award for his work on former Gov. Neil Goldschmidt's long-concealed sexual abuse of a teenage girl.
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