UF Speaker Anne Hull wins Public Service Pulitzer

Back in January I was lucky enough to sit in on a talk given by Washington Post reporter Anne Hull, who at that time was known only as a Pulitzer finalist. I even got to ask her the last question of the Q&A session — If being based in Washington DC and working to expose cracks within the federal system in dealing with wounded soldiers resulted in any turmoil or backlash from politicians who would have rather kept the information secretive…She said that luckily that wasn’t the case. It was announced on April 7 that Hull and collaborative reporter Dana Priest can now count themselves among the ranks of winners of the coveted prize. The Poynter Institute posted an interview with the two journalists that gives an insight into their tactics in compiling the information for their Walter Reed article series:

Anne Hull: Working beneath the radar was crucial because we needed to see the problems at Walter Reed with our own eyes. We needed to roam around the 110-acre facility at various hours of the day or night and talk to soldiers and Marines without the interference of Army public affairs. We needed to connect with wounded soldiers that were not pre-selected by the Army.

You can also listen to a similar interview over at NPR. I’m lucky that our college can bring such heavy hitters in the industry to come and share their experiences!