Editorial Cartoonist Luckovich Nets a Pulitzer
Melissa Block talks with Mike Luckovich, the 2006 Pulitzer Prize winner for editorial cartooning. Luckovich works for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution; he is syndicated in papers around the country five times a week.
The 2,000 American Soldiers Killed in Iraq. Mike Luckovich hide caption
They discuss Luckovich's work, including his Oct. 26 cartoon in which the letters in the word "Why?" are formed by the names of 2,000 American soldiers who have died in Iraq. Luckovich won his first Pultizer in 1995.
In the notes accompanying the award, the Pulitzer panel cited Luckovich's "powerful cartoons on an array of issues, drawn with a simple but piercing style." Other finalists were Marshall Ramsey of The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Miss.) and Mike Thompson of the Detroit Free Press.
Pulitzer Prizes: 2006 Winners
JOURNALISM
Public Service: The Times-Picayune of New Orleans and the sun Herald of Gulfport, Miss., for coverage of Hurricane Katrina
Breaking News Reporting: The Times-Picayune of New Orleans, for Hurricane Katrina coverage (Interview with 'Times-Picayune' Editor Jim Amoss, Jan. 4)
Investigative Reporting: Susan Schmidt, James V. Grimaldi and R. Jeffrey Smith of The Washington Post for coverage of the Jack Abramoff scandal (Interview with Schmidt and Smith, Feb. 1)
Explanatory Reporting: David Finkel of The Washington Post, for writing about the U.S. government's attempt to bring democracy to Yemen
Beat Reporting: Dana Priest of The Washington Post, for reporting on secret prisons and the government's counterterrorism campaign (Dana Priest Interview, Nov. 5, 2005)
National Reporting: James Risen and Eric Lichtblau of The New York Times (Interview with Risen, Jan. 5)
National Reporting: Staffs of the San Diego Union-Tribune and Copley News Service
International Reporting: James Kahn and Jim Yardley of The New York Times for coverage of China's legal system
Feature Writing: Jim Sheeler of the Rocky Mountain News, for his story on a Marine major who helps families of comrades killed in Iraq cope with their loss
Commentary: Nicholas D. Kristof of The New York Times
Criticism: Robin Givhan of The Washington Post
Editorial Writing: Rick Attig and Doug Bates of The Oregonian for writing about abuse inside a mental hospital
Editorial Cartooning: Mike Luckovich of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Luckovich Featured on 'Talk of the Nation' Feb. 9)
Breaking News Photography: The Dallas Morning News, for coverage of Hurricane Katrina
Feature Photography: Todd Heisler of the Rocky Mountain News, for behind-the-scenes funeral coverage of Marines from Colorado
LETTERS, DRAMA & MUSIC
Fiction: Geraldine Brooks, March (Book Excerpt and Interview, March 9, 2005)
Drama: No prize awarded
History: David M. Oshinsky, Polio: An American Story
Biography or Autobiography: Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Bird and Sherwin on 'Talk of the Nation' May 11, 2005)
Poetry: Claudia Emerson, "Late Wife"
General Non-Fiction: Caroline Elkins, Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya (Elkins Interview, Jan. 22, 2005)
Music: Yehudi Wyner, "Piano Concerto: 'Chiavi in Mano'"