Apr 17, 2019 4 min read

Staffers plying their trade in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newsroom Monday had ample reason to celebrate. They had secured journalism’s version of the Holy Grail: a Pulitzer Prize.

It was far from a raucous occasion, though. The P-G won the 2019 prize for Breaking News Reporting for its coverage of the Tree of Life synagogue massacre Oct. 27, when 11 people were killed and seven wounded by a lone gunman.

“This was a moment of sobriety more than celebration,” said David Shribman, executive editor emeritus of the Post-Gazette and head of the newsroom when the tragedy occurred.

“These were not circumstances you want to work under. The atmosphere (in the newsroom Monday) was very somber, but we were very proud of our work.”

That body of work impressed Pulitzer judges, who called it “immersive, compassionate coverage … that captured the anguish and resilience of a community thrust into grief.” They considered 10 examples of P-G work, including articles, photos, videos and a timeline.

The Post-Gazette covered the massacre story diligently for weeks, an effort that included a distinctive headline – written in Hebrew – at the top of the front page six days after the shootings.

Robert Bowers, 46, of Baldwin Borough, faces trial on more than 60 charges, about a dozen of those hate crime counts. He is accused of entering the Squirrel Hill synagogue on the morning of Oct. 27, with an assault rifle and three handguns, and firing shots. The incident reportedly lasted about 20 minutes.

Four Pittsburgh police officers were among the seven who were wounded. Public officials praised police for their quick response, saying that averted an even worse tragedy. Shribman said his staff displayed a similar urgency on that gruesome Saturday morning, some racing to the newsroom on their own – some despite having the day off – and that he fully expected that.

“Everybody came in. We didn’t have to call anyone in,” said Shribman, a Squirrel Hill resident who lives three blocks from Tree of Life. “We didn’t have to give anyone assignments. When you work with people who are professional and dedicated, you are not surprised when they act on that professionalism and dedication.”

Oct. 27 was not an off day for L.A. Johnson. She is a deputy magazine editor who was doing a rotation as a breaking news editor. Johnson was the first person in the newsroom to realize something serious was unfolding.

“I heard over the (police) scanner: ‘Active shooter, Tree of Life.’ It was 9:56 and I knew it would be a wild day, and we would be part of a national story.”

Johnson said she called reporter Kris Mamula and photographer Pam Panchak, who were in East Liberty on a story, and reassigned them to Tree of Life, and told reporter Andrew Goldstein, who lives in Squirrel Hill, to head there as well.

“I took dictation from Andrew and Kris,” Johnson recalled. “I could tell Andrew was shaken when he called. Then it was all hands on deck. Everyone around or in town came in.

“For a journalist, this was like 9/11 in a lot of ways, but more intense because this was here.”

While the newspaper was reporting on the tragedy last fall, Lillian Thomas, news editor at the P-G, said she and her peers “felt a sense that we had been a voice of the people and for the people.” Thomas said the situation has resonated with a number of P-G employees who have or had ties to synagogue victims.

Earning a Pulitzer is a newspaper’s goal, and Jim Iovino, the deputy managing editor, would have loved to have celebrated Monday. But winning amid this tragic backdrop, he said, “is an odd feeling.”

“You’re happy all the hard work you put in was recognized, but this is something you hope never happens again. I live in Squirrel Hill, just blocks away (from Tree of Life). But I’m glad we were able to provide coverage for the Pittsburgh community, to help people through it in one way.”

This was the Post-Gazette‘s third Pulitzer. Ray Sprigle won in 1938 for reporting that Hugo Black, a recent appointee to the U.S. Supreme Court, had been a Ku Klux Klan member. Photographer Martha Rial won in 1998.

Tree of Life followed 20 years later. The massacre is not, and may never truly be, in David Shribman’s rear-view mirror.

“In some ways,” he said, “it’s still going on.”