Master’s Student Adds ‘Pulitzer Prize’ to His Resume
Charles Minshew Was a Part of the Denver Post News Staff That Won the Award in the Breaking News Reporting Category
Columbia, Mo. (April 16, 2013) — A Missouri School of Journalism master’s student has a new award to add to his resume – Pulitzer Prize.
As a Dow Jones News Fund summer intern, Charles Minshew helped the news staff of the Denver Post cover the Aurora, Colo., movie theatre massacre on July 20, 2012. Twelve people were killed and at least 58 others were injured when a gunman walked into Theater 9 at the Century Aurora 16 theaters and began firing during a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises.”
The news team learned Monday that they won journalism’s highest honor in the breaking news reporting category for its print and digital efforts documenting the mass shooting.
The Post’s winning entry included reporting, photography and video work that was shared online, through social media and in print. Minshew served as a Web producer, helping to update social media and to build interactive tools, including a map and the timeline.
The Pulitzer citation singled out the Post staff for using tools such as Facebook and Twitter as well as video and written reports.
The prize recognizes “a distinguished example of local reporting of breaking news that, as quickly as possible, captures events accurately as they occur, and, as time passes, illuminates, provides context and expands upon the initial coverage.”
Minshew said the entire Denver Post team met the challenge of reporting on the tragedy.
“It’s a bittersweet day for me,” Minshew said. “But, on July 20 and in the days after, we spent every day making sure that our community was well informed about the theater shooting. That summer showed me what teamwork was all about. Everyone gave it their all.”
Assistant Professor Amy Simons has served as Minshew’s professor and mentor.
“His dedication to his craft and willingness to take risks and experiment with new storytelling techniques and delivery methods – is unequaled – and something I very much admire,” she said. “I look forward to watching him continue to grow as journalist and see where his promising career takes him.”
Visit the Denver Post’s website to view its Pulitzer submission and coverage of the Aurora tragedy.
Updated: July 15, 2020