Two Northwestern alumni were part of reporting teams that won the highest award in journalism Monday.

Rebecca Kimitch (Weinberg ‘98) won the Pulitzer Prize for local reporting and a Seattle Times team that included Brian Rosenthal (Medill ‘11) won the Pulitzer for breaking news reporting.

Kimitch won the award for her work uncovering corruption in a small school district for The Daily Breeze, a newspaper in Torrance, California.

Kimitch and her colleagues Rob Kuznia and Frank Suraci discovered the superintendent of the school district was receiving a total compensation of $750,000 along with other perks.

“It’s been a really surreal afternoon,” Kimitch told The Daily. “It’s just great to get recognition for a lot of hard work that you’ve done for a long time.”

Rosenthal, a former Daily editor in chief, helped cover the 2014 Oso mudslide that killed 43 people. The team reported on the tragedy and explored whether it could have been avoided.

“If you ask anybody at the Seattle Times, they will tell you how it’s bittersweet
because of how many people died and how much devastation there was,” he told The Daily. “Being up there, it was the most emotionally draining reporting experience of my career.”

Medill Watchdog, a former investigative journalism initiative, also worked with the Chicago Tribune team that was among the finalists for the Pulitzer in investigative reporting.

Medill Watchdog, which ceased operations indefinitely after Fall Quarter, collaborated with the Tribune in a series of stories chronicling problems in the residential treatment care system.

John Seasly (Medill ‘14), who worked for Medill Watchdog as a graduate intern, said being part of a project that was a Pulitzer finalist feels “very special.”

“Everybody had a sense that we were working on something that really mattered,” he said.

Watchdog students contributed mostly with research and stories on treatment centers around the nation. David Jackson, one of the Tribune reporters, worked closely with students, Seasly said.

After the Tribune investigation found children at one of Illinois centers became involved in prostitution, the facility was closed. Additionally, Bobbie Gregg, the director of Illinois state child welfare, stepped down after the series was published, and federal authorities began investigating many of the centers.

Seasly said it was a shame Medill Watchdog was shut down because it provided investigative journalism experience to students. He said the program showed students they can have an impact.

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