Staffers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette were surprised to learn April 15 that, along with the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news, came a monetary award of $15,000.
The newspaper was honored with a Pulitzer for its coverage of the shooting deaths of 11 people and the wounding of seven others Oct. 27 at the Tree of Life Congregation in Squirrel Hill. The judges called the staff's work "immersive, compassionate coverage ... that captured the anguish and resilience of a community thrust into grief."
But what to do with that $15,000? Staffers felt the horrendous events of that day made it difficult to fully savor one of the country's highest honors for journalistic achievement. And splitting the monetary award among those who had participated in the news coverage just didn’t seem right.
PG Publisher John Robinson Block had a suggestion — donate the prize money to Tree of Life to help it repair its bullet-riddled temple in Squirrel Hill.
On Aug. 29, in the Post-Gazette newsroom on the North Shore, the newspaper’s executive editor, Keith Burris, presented a $15,000 check to Rabbi Jeffrey Myers and Samuel Schachner, president of the congregation.
Here is the text of Mr. Burris’ presentation speech:
“Rabbi Myers, when the unthinkable happened at Tree of Life, it was our job to tell the story.
And to tell the backstory.
We did our duty.
It was our honor to do it.
Nothing about doing our duty makes us noble or exceptional.
But the DUTY ITSELF was and is noble.
Now we share with you another duty: TO REMEMBER.
And to assure that Pittsburgh, the United States, and all the world, REMEMBERS.
We feel bound to you and your congregations – by memory and duty.
And we offer you, in humility, our service – as scribes and witnesses.
We wish Tree of Life to have this gift – the newspaper's cash award for the Pulitzer Prize for spot news – as a sign of this bond and this service. We give it as a modest contribution toward the repair and rebuilding of the congregation's physical plant.
The Post-Gazette also will sponsor a yearly gathering – to be called the Dina Wallach Block Symposium, after Mr. Block’s grandmother. It will be in honor of the victims of the Tree of Life shootings and devoted to an exploration of how free speech and free thought can be used to confront hate speech and violence and overcome both with decency and love.”
First Published: September 4, 2019, 9:14 p.m.
