Matt Hamilton ’09 Awarded Second Pulitzer Prize

In April, the Los Angeles Times reporters Matt Hamilton ’09, Harriet Ryan, and Paul Pringle won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting for their three-month investigation of a University of Southern California gynecologist who was accused of abusing hundreds of students over twenty-seven years. Their work, which began with an anonymous tip, led to several institutional changes at USC, including the resignation of the university’s president. For Hamilton—a former theology major, Gabelli Presidential Scholar, and Heights columnist—the award marked his second Pulitzer. He was part of the Los Angeles Times team that won in 2016 for coverage of the San Bernardino terrorist attack. “The Heights was my first taste of realizing the power of words,” Hamilton said. “Once it’s been published, you can’t take back what you say, and there are consequences. So it’s imperative to turn over every stone.” 

Other Heights writers who have received Pulitzers include Will Hobson ’06, who with Michael LaForgia won the 2014 Local Reporting award for their Tampa Bay Times exposé of the city’s squalid housing conditions for the homeless; and Jim Doyle ’56 and Martin F. Nolan ’61, who won the 1966 Public Service award for a Boston Globe investigation that revealed a federal judicial nominee’s lack of qualifications. ◽