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Celebrating the Pulitzer Tradition and St. Louis

The Pulitzer tradition can mean different things to different people, but to journalists, it represents the importance of investigative journalism and standing up against the injustices in the world.

Kennicott

Keynote speaker Philip Kennicott, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic at The Washington Post, discusses “The Pulitzer Tradition of Social Justice,” Tuesday evening at Scott Hall. Photo by Jessica Ciccone

This intersection of social justice and journalism was celebrated at the School of Law’s annual Millstone Lecture Sept. 13-14, which marked the 100th anniversary of the prestigious award’s establishment.

The two-day event began on Tuesday evening with keynote speaker Philip Kennicott, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic at The Washington Post, who discussed “The Pulitzer Tradition of Social Justice.”

Focusing on the changing formats in journalism, Kennicott highlighted the need for investigative journalism to expose injustice and suggested that perhaps the business model for papers today depends on great journalism funded by not-so-great journalism (the interspersing of “listicles” and other “clickbait” stories designed to generate revenue).

This idea was further reinforced by a panel presentation with Pulitzer Prize-winning St. Louis Post-Dispatch photographers David Carson and Robert Cohen; Margaret Freivogel, founder of the St. Louis Beacon and former St. Louis Public Radio editor; Emily Rauh Pulitzer, chair Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts; and Jon Sawyer, founder of the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting. The group focused on the issues of reporting in a digital world.

“In today’s digital world you can no longer define yourself by the one medium that you prefer to use. Journalists have to be familiar with all facets,” Freivogel said.

Speaking from Scott Hall’s courtroom in the final panel of the evening, Jeremy Kohler of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch summed up the importance of the event: “It’s activists, lawyers and journalists that will keep pressing people to do what they promised to do.”

Hudson

Nicole Hudson, communications and strategy catalyst for Forward Through Ferguson, speaks as a panel member in the event's concluding session "Social Justice and Ferguson." Photo by Josh Booth

The event’s concluding session, “ Social Justice and Ferguson,” was moderated by the School of Law’s Dean Michael Wolff, and featured Thomas Harvey, executive director of ArchCity Defenders; Nicole Hudson, communications and strategy catalyst for Forward Through Ferguson; and Kevin Horrigan, Jeremy Kohler and Tony Messenger of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The panel discussion highlighted social justice issues that have come to light following the death of Michael Brown, such as municipal court fines, debtors prisons and targeted policing.

The annual Millstone Memorial Lecture, sponsored by the School of Law, is named in honor of a legendary St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter and editor, James C. Millstone. Millstone covered the U.S. Supreme Court and the civil rights movement of the 1960s before serving as assistant managing editor for news at the Post-Dispatch until his death in 1992. For a generation of reporters he was a mentor and the “conscience of the newsroom.” The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and St. Louis Public Radio co-sponsored the two-day Pulitzer centennial event.