NEW YORK — The Las Vegas Sun won the Pulitzer Prize for public service Monday for exposing a high death rate among construction workers on the Las Vegas Strip.
The newspaper was cited for the "courageous reporting” of Alexandra Berzon, whose stories about lax enforcement of safety rules on the Las Vegas Strip led to changes in policy and improved workplace conditions.
The death toll on the Strip had reached nine in 16 months as casino giants undertook a $32 billion building boom, including the largest private commercial development in U.S. history. Berzon described how the rush to build quickly and at highly congested work sites led to safety shortcuts that contributed to deaths.
The New York Times received five Pulitzers, including one for breaking the call-girl scandal that destroyed Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s career.
The Detroit Free Press won in the local reporting category for obtaining a trove of sexually explicit text messages that brought down the city’s mayor. The judges also awarded a Pulitzer in local reporting to the East Valley Tribune of Mesa, Ariz., for revealing how a sheriff’s focus on immigration enforcement endangered investigations of other crimes.
The only other multiple winner was the St. Petersburg Times. It was honored for fact-checking what the candidates said during the 2008 White House campaign, and for feature writing for Lane DeGregory’s story on a neglected girl who was unable to talk or feed herself.
No recession coverage
No Pulitzers were awarded for coverage of the biggest financial crisis since the Depression. And despite a rule change that allowed online-only news organizations to compete for Pulitzers for the first time, none of the 65 entries won any prizes.
by the associated press
