University alumni Rick Attig and Doug Bates won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing on Monday for their series published in The Oregonian chronicling the neglect of the overcrowded and decrepit Oregon State Hospital in Salem.
The prize, often referred to as “the Oscar of Journalism,” was awarded to Bates and Attig, both associate editors, “for their persuasive, richly reported editorials on abuses inside a forgotten Oregon mental hospital.”
The series, “Oregon’s Forgotten Hospital,” illuminated various problems at Oregon’s primary state-run psychiatric facility. Thousands of former patients’ ashes are kept in corroding canisters and the building is no longer earthquake-safe, the editorials revealed.
University alumni had won a total of nine Pulitzers before the recent awards. Eight of the nine winners are alumni of the School of Journalism and Communication.
Attig graduated from the University in 1983 and majored in journalism and political science. The University is where he learned core journalistic knowledge that has served him throughout his career, he said. This is his second Pulitzer Prize. He won the Pulitzer’s Public Service Award in 2001 for editorials also published in The Oregonian that examined problems with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Bates graduated from the University in 1968, where he majored in journalism. Bates looks back fondly on his time at the University and in particular what he learned when he attended the journalism school. “Even though it’s been 38 years since I graduated, the influence has always been there,” he said.
Bates said he remembers lectures on editorial writing given by the late John Hulteng, who was dean of the school when Bates attended, that had a profound affect on his career.
“I never forget those lectures,” he said.
Journalism adjunct professor Dean Rea, who got to know Bates when they both worked at The Register-Guard, said “his greatest strength rests in his ability to gather information and organize the material into an interesting and dynamic story via news, features or editorials.”
Mike Thoele, publisher of the Tri-City News and West Lane News and Bates’ friend, describes him as “always a strong reporter in knowing where the story was leading, being thorough in his reporting.”
Arnold Ismach, who was the dean of the journalism school when Bates was working at The Register-Guard, is not surprised to hear that University alumni have won another Pulitzer. Bates has been an outstanding writer who is devoted to good journalism, he said.
Journalism professor Duncan McDonald, who met Bates when Bates worked for The Register-Guard, said he admired his work in Eugene, and he still admires it.
“For a younger reporter, the prize opens doors, for me it means a nice way to begin the final lap in a long career,” said Bates, who is 59.
Attig, 44, said the prize helped calm the doubts that his writing wasn’t up to caliber and that it was in fact on the same level as top journalism throughout the country.
Bates has other things to feel accomplished about as well.
“Above all it is so satisfying that the editorial we wrote has made a difference,” he said.
Attig agreed. He noted that if any of the journalism majors at the University were wondering whether they can make a difference as a journalist, his experience has proved that it is possible.
As a direct result of Attig and Bates’ editorial series, the Oregon Legislature took steps to demolish and replace the hospital. It also passed a bill requiring equal opportunities for the mentally ill in receiving health insurance. A memorial is also being built for the remains of former patients who never received a proper burial.
The Pulitzer is the Oregonian’s fourth in recent years.
“(Bates) paid his dues to Oregon journalism,” Thoele said. “As an Oregon journalist it makes me feel good that every once in a while someone from here wins a Pulitzer,” he added.
Bates is familiar with the Pulitzer Prize because he wrote a book about it published in 1991 titled “The Pulitzer Prize: The Inside Story of America’s Most Prestigious Award.”
Ismach, the former journalism school dean, thought it was quite a coincidence that Bates won the prize.
UO journalism school alumni win Pulitzer Prize
Daily Emerald
April 20, 2006
Doug Bates, left, and Rick Attig won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing Monday. Both men are alumni of the University’s School of Journalism and Communication.
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