NEW YORK - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporter David Conti was awarded a Pulitzer Prize last night following an emergency session of the Pulitzer Prize Board, beating the combined staffs of The Sun-Herald of Biloxi, Mississippi and The Times-Picayune of New Orleans covering Hurricane Katrina. Conti’s submission, a profile of The Carbolic Smoke Ball published yesterday afternoon, won the Pulitzer for Public Service and Breaking News Reporting. The Pulitzer Prize Board issued a written statement recognizing "the really top-notch, grade A'" quality of the work produced by the Sun-Herald and Times-Picayune, but said Conti’s piece was far more significant. "Without David’s illuminating piece on these highly dedicated humorists, toiling daily in the oppressive, soul-destroying world of the blogosphere, struggling to scratch out a laugh or two, all the while maintaining a secret identity so as not to compromise their effectiveness as crimefighters, they would have remained anonymous, unread, and unappreciated. And that would have been a far greater disaster for the American people than any Category Five Hurricane could ever inflict."
Conti received his gold medal at an emergency awards ceremony held at The Waldorf Astoria. After presenting Conti with his award, Master of Ceremonies Maury Povich read a congratulatory telegram from Tribune-Review publisher Richard Mellon Scaife. In the telegram, Scaife informed Mr. Conti that, as a token of his appreciation, "effective immediately," Conti would receive his own parking space in the lot adjacent to The Tribune Building on Pittsburgh’s North Side.
Conti said he was humbled by his selection. When asked what he planned to do with his gold medal, he smiled. "I think I’ll wear it around my neck for a while," he said.
