UMG members win Pulitzer Prize

FergusonThe United Media Guild congratulates its members whose work earned the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The staff photographers covered the social unrest that followed the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson last August. The photo staff consists of chief photographer J.B. Forbes, photographers David Carson, Robert Cohen, Cristina Fletes-Boutte, Christian Gooden, Chris Lee, Huy Mach and Laurie Skrivan; and director of photography Lynden Steele; photo editor Hilary Levin; and Gary Hairlson, director of video.

“I am extremely proud of our photo staff for their coverage of the protests in Ferguson, and I am happy they have received this recognition,” Steele told the Post-Dispatch.

“From August through November, the photographers displayed an amazing commitment to covering this story. They were tireless, brave, and dogged in their reporting. At the height of the protests, eight staff photographers covered Ferguson from 6:30 a.m. until about 3 a.m. They built relationships in the community, followed leads and made great, story-telling pictures.

“The photographs capture the anger, conflict and tragedy of the events that have ripped the bandaid off of the race conversation in St. Louis, and started new conversations about policing, local government and municipal courts.”

Carson, who also serves as this Local’s vice-president, said of the award,  “It’s sad that all this stemmed from someone losing their life but our photographers did a fantastic job of making it all real for our community.  At a time when slashing photo staffs is in vogue, this demonstrates the value of professional photojournalists on a newsroom staff.”

Carson expressed his gratitude and admiration for not only his photography colleagues but for the newsroom as a whole.  “You couldn’t ask more from such hardworking professionals.  The way they responded was everything you would hope for in coverage of such a major news event.”