A discussion with Pulitzer winner Eric Newhouse

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When CBS called Eric Newhouse in April to get a comment about his freshly won Pulitzer Prize, Newhouse thought it was a joke — and promptly hung up.

Then he went looking for the jokester in the newsroom of his newspaper, the Great Falls (Montana) Tribune.

When he couldn't find the culprit, be called up the Associated Press wire. "Unbelieveable," he said. "There was one of those Pulitzer Prizes, sitting right next to my name!"

And, Newhouse confessed later, the prospect for winning the Pulitzer was such a long shot that he submitted the $50 entry fee from his own pocket.

So it went for Newhouse, the lanky, journeyman reporter who surprised an industry by winning the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism for his 12-part series of stories about alcohol and its effects on smalltown life in Montana. Newhouse, still giddy for toppling giant newspapers such as the Oregonian and the New York Times in winning journalism's top honor, thoroughly entertained a roomful of educators at the June 11-16 ASNE/ API Institute for Journalism Excellence seminar here in Reston, telling the tale of his unlikely success.

"It was an enormous shock to win," said Newhouse, clad in a sports jacket and tie but wearing his signature handlebar mustache and black, cowboy boots. "It was glacial. Everything stopped when we learned we had won."

Small staff, major effort

The Tribune project was a daunting undertaking — 12 monthly installments over one year. "Alcohol is woven into the traditions and daily life that is Montana," said executive editor Jim Strauss of the series. "It provides jobs, contributes taxes and supports community events. When it is abused, it wrecks our marriages, batters our partners and retards the future of Montanans."

Newhouse has been with the Tribune for 12 years, serving as news editor, editorial page editor and projects editor, respectively. He is not a stranger to project work. Before joining the newspaper, he had an 18-year career with the Associated Press, and spearheaded the coverage of dioxin contamination at Times Beach, Mo., while heading the AP's St. Louis office.

Mark Zieman, editor of the Kanas City Star and a member of the Pulitzer panel that selected Newhouse, said the Great Fallas paper pulled off "a perfect 10" with its coverage.

"The subject matter (of the alcoholism series) "has certainly been covered by other papers, but not as creatively," Zieman told a Tribune reporter at the time the award was announced.

Newhouse’s techniques were rich and thorough, he explained to the journalism educators. They were also rooted in respect for the victims of alcoholism and their families.

"People were willing to share some incredible secrets," said Newhouse. "It got easier as the series went along. We treated people with respect. There was broad community support."

That support started on Day 1 when Newhouse pulled together a panel of 10 experts to guide the story. The group included: counselors, law enforcement officials, school officials and even a state senator.

He added," We wrote about people, their problems and their triumphs." In all but two instances, full names were used . "People took me in a member of the family. The people who put their names and reputations on the line were the unsung heroes of the piece," he said.

Inspiration to others

Said seminar participant Julia MacDonnell Chang, an assistant professor at Rowan (NJ) University: "Such telling details. I was mesmerized and plan to teach Eric’s series in my special writing class."

Added Alice Rowlands, associate professor at Houston Baptist University, " "he is inspirational to future journalists."

The prize also spawned some action in Montana. A new community task force to deal with drinking and its social problems was organized, and the Gannett Foundation has agreed to fund two new programs in Great Falls.

So, when do the job offers follow, Eric?

"I’m happy right where I am, here in Great Falls," said Newhouse, who hopes to write a book, and do more coaching of young writers as part of his duties over time. He also hopes to do a substantive look at Montana’s children — the style of the Pulitzer series — over time.

"It’ll take a team of mules to drag me out of Montana," the writer said.

Whether Newhouse wins another Pulitzer prize for that effort will remain to be seen. But in the meantime, he savors No. 1 — as does his wife Suzie.

Commenting on her storytelling husband: "I mean this is Mr.-walking-out-to-the-car-who-can-make-it-into-an-adventure-story."

wwatson@bsu.edu