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April 13, 2005 — When he took
the stage to receive his bachelor’s degree in journalism
from the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in 1992,
Josh Margolin had three words written on his gown: "Pulitzer
or Bust."
"It was, of course, a dream,"
Margolin said. "People kind of laughed at me at the time."
Today, the dream has come true. Margolin and the rest of
the staff of the Star-Ledger newspaper in Newark, N.J. won
the 2005 Pulitzer Prize in the breaking news category for
the paper’s coverage of Gov. James E. McGreevey’s
bombshell resignation last August.
Margolin had been a reporter assigned to the Star-Ledger’s
state capitol bureau in Trenton since early 2002. When McGreevey
announced on Aug. 12, 2004 that he would resign because of
a gay affair, Margolin and his colleagues sprang into action.
By deadline they had captured one of the biggest news events
in New Jersey history in a package of stories, photos and
opinion pieces.
"Clearly, there’s nothing
like the adrenaline rush of the big breaking news event going
on right then and there," said Margolin, 34. "You
must cover it. It must get done. Your deadline is approaching
and you’ve got to get this paper out." Even so,
it never occurred to Margolin that his work on that busy day
would come to be honored as the best breaking news coverage
by an American newspaper. "It was even a surprise when
we found out that we were finalists," he said.
A Pulitzer jury of five newspaper executives saluted the
Star-Ledger’s "comprehensive, clear-headed coverage"
of the McGreevey resignation in announcing the prize April
4, 2005. The other two finalists for the breaking news prize
were the Charlotte Sun and the South Florida Sun Sentinel,
both of which were nominated for coverage of hurricanes that
hit Florida last summer.
Margolin was the editor of the Pioneer, the C.W. Post Campus
newspaper, during his junior year in 1990-91. After graduating,
he went to work at the Carlsbad Current-Argus in New Mexico.
He also worked at papers in Texas, New Jersey and New York
before signing on with the Star-Ledger in 1998. He lives in
Metuchen, N.J.
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| Star-Ledger staffers (l to r) Josh Margolin
(1992 C.W. Post graduate), Jeff Whelan and Kate Coscarelli
celebrate as the newsroom erupts during the announcement
of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting.
The newspaper's staff received journalism's highest award
for its coverage of the resignation of New Jersey's governor.
(Photo courtesy of Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger) |
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| 1992 C.W. Post graduate Josh Margolin
(left) shakes hands with Jim Willse, editor of The Star-Ledger,
just after the award was announced. |
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