by Alli Inglebright, May 2018 alum
Two journalism alumni were part of Pulitzer prize winning teams announced this spring. Chris Graves (’87) was part of the Cincinnati Enquirer’s “Seven Days of Heroin” team, which examined the impact of heroin on the community through immersive storytelling. Nate Kelly (’10) was part of The Arizona Republic’s “The Wall: Unknown stories, Unintended consequences” team, which was a special report from 2017 looking at President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall.
Graves worked with 60 other journalists to show what heroin in the Cincinnati community looks like. Her role as a reporter on the project required her to spend time in various locations and connect with individuals affected by heroin.
“I spent a day with a longtime heroin-addicted mother who was celebrating her son’s birthday in a sterile office environment on a supervised visit,” Graves said. “Her children had been taken away from her and placed in foster care. I also spent about 3-4 hours outside a local hospital emergency room waiting to see if anyone would bring an overdose victim to be dropped off.”
During the last 6 hours of the project, Graves was inside the Hamilton County jail waiting for the intake of those booked on drug charges.
The project showed many facets of the issue and brings people front and center with the heroin epidemic in their community, Graves said.
“(The project’s) beauty, I have always thought, was in the starkness of the writing, making sure every word mattered and that, despite the heft of the topic, it was told with humanity and empathy,” Graves said. “We hoped that folks would see that this was a community issue that impacted nearly all of us.”
Upon graduating in 1987, Graves promised former journalism professor Bud Pagel that she would win a Pulitzer award. While she never thought she would deliver on that promise, she said she was grateful to have the opportunity to work on this story.
“The joy to me, honestly, is in the pursuit of the work and in the telling of the story,” Graves said.
To read the rest of this story, visit https://www.huskeralum.org/s/1620/magazine/interior.aspx?sid=1620&gid=1&pgid=1799.