One of the greatest moments in John Archibald’s life was in 2018 when he won a Pulitzer Prize for a column published by Alabama Media Group, the state’s largest news publisher.
He surpassed it on Monday. Archibald won his second prize for local reporting as part of a team of journalists that included his son Ramsay Archibald, who investigated the city police.
“I was stunned,” Archibald, 60, said in an interview when the win was announced. It’s gold.
AL.com’s team of four (including research editors Ashley Remkus and Challen Stephens) took home one of two Pulitzer Prizes won by the Alabama Media Group on Monday. The organization also won an award for commentary on a column by political columnist Kyle Whitmire, who explored how Alabama’s Confederate history impacts the state today.
As readers ditch traditional print newspapers and corporate owners close newsrooms, fewer news outlets have the money to investigate local government and sustain top-notch journalism.
AL.com finds itself weathering these economic headwinds. Alabama Media Group, owned by national newspaper chain Advance Local, published his three newspapers: The Birmingham News, Mobile’s Press Register and The Huntsville Times. AL.com’s managing editor, Kelly Ann Scott, announced in February that the company would stop printing these newspapers. Mentions changing habits of readers and advertisersdirect readers of these newspapers to AL.com.
But Scott said in an interview Monday that the Alabama Media Group has more journalists than it did five years ago.
“Local journalism is very important in America right now,” Scott said. “It’s great to see stories and commentaries like this popping up in national conversations by people who love where they come from.”
Ramsey Archibald, 31, a data reporter for Alabama Media Group, joined his father and Lemkus in January 2022, months after the reporting project.team is look up tips It accused the local police in the town of Brookside of preying on residents to increase their income.
The Pulitzer Prize is the second for Remkus, who also won the 2021 yearlong study of the harm police dogs have done to Americans. In an interview, Lemkas said it took her second win to realize her first win was no fluke. She celebrated her final bounty by adopting her cat, Samuel Pulitzer Seaborn, and is looking forward to getting a second rescue after the fuss subsides.
Remkus added he is optimistic about the future of local news in Alabama, despite the company’s recent decision to stop printing the newspaper.
“Whether it’s in the form of a newspaper or online, it’s journalism that counts,” Remkas said, pausing and letting Samuel into the room. “And I don’t think the shipping method is getting in the way of our work.”
Ramsey Archibald celebrated the Pulitzer win at his home in Birmingham on Monday. He said in interviews that his investigation into Brookside was conducted primarily through in-person visits to town, phone calls, and video conferences with colleagues. I’m in between edit rooms so my team can’t pop champagne next to a cubicle under fluorescent lights.
John Archibald said he was worried about his son’s possible entry into the journalism industry.
Also, when Ramsey Archibald was hired, he was out of town on a reporting mission.
“I will never let him down,” said John Archibald.
