Pulitzer winner offers insight into investigative reporting

Brett Blackledge, winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting, spoke at a workshop about enterprise reporting that was sponsored by the UA Society of Professional Journalists in Graves Hall.

Blackledge was awarded the Pulitzer for his work in exposing the cronyism and corruption in the state's two-year college system, resulting in the dismissal of the chancellor, and other corrective action.

"What's remarkable about this award is it basically affirms what we do every day. There's nothing magical about this," Blackledge said in The Birmingham News. "It's 98 percent of the stuff we do every day. It's extraordinary, yet very ordinary."

UA Society of Professional Journalists President Ashlee Boswell said it was the organization's commitment to ethics that inspired them to bring Blackledge to the Capstone.

Tom Scarritt, executive editor of The Birmingham News, introduced Blackledge and said it was Blackledge's curiosity and persistence that made him a great journalist.

Blackledge began his speech by outlining his investigation into the corrupt system, which began in October 2005 and still continues.

He said his research has unearthed several undeserved relationships with officials and their relatives tied to the colleges, the money they received and how the state administration has tried to cover it up.

In an article published in The Journalist, a magazine published by the Society of Professional Journalists, Blackledge said this project has shown the vast reach of the system's patronage, through every college in every corner of the state.

Through his investigation into the two-year college system, Blackledge wrote 175 articles exposing various forms of corruption at nearly every college in the system and winning him the coveted prize.

The Birmingham News' investigation into the system is ongoing.

Blackledge offered one piece of advice to journalism students that many often hear.

"If you really want to do it, go out and do it," Blackledge said. "A degree is not enough."

Students who are interested in the Society of Professional Journalists or who are interested in journalism should log on to www.spj.org/ualabama or contact Ashlee Boswell at adboswell@bama.ua.edu.