Jacqui Banaszynski
Jacqui Banaszynski is an American journalist. She was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing in 1988. Banaszynski went on to become a professor and a Knight Chair at the school of journalism at University of Missouri.
Biography
Banaszynski grew up in a small farming village in Wisconsin.[1] Banaszynski began working as a journalist in high school and when she was 15, became the editor of the school paper, the Pulaski News.[2] Part of the appeal of working on the paper was that the journalism program gave her access to sporting events at the school level.[3] Banaszynski graduated from Pulaski High School in 1970 and earned a degree in journalism from Marquette University in 1974.[2][1][4] She was the first in her family to earn a college degree.[3]
Around 1984, Banaszynski started working for the St. Paul Pioneer Press Dispatch.[5] In 1986, she went on assignment to Africa and her story about Sudanese victims of famine, "The Trail of Tears," became a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting in 1986.[6][7]
Banaszynski wrote a special report called "AIDS in the Heartland" while she was a reporter at the St. Paul Pioneer Press Dispatch.[2] The report was a series of stories that centered around the lives of two gay Minnesota farmers, one of whom had contracted AIDS.[2] She and her photographer, Jean Pieri, searched for a year for subjects that they felt could "humanize people afflicted by this terrifying new illness."[8] Their choice of following Dick Hanson and his partner, Bert Henningson, at first upset readers of the newspaper, but after the final installment of the 3 part series, most readers seemed to sympathize with both men.[8] The series won a Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing in 1988.[9]
In 1997, Banaszynski began working for The Seattle Times and in 2003, became the Associate Managing Editor for special projects and staff development.[10]
Banaszynski was inducted into the American Society of Sunday and Feature Editors Hall of Fame in 2008.[1] She went on to become the Knight Chair at the University of Missouri school of journalism.[11]
References
- "Jacqui Banaszynski". Missouri School of Journalism. Archived from the original on 20 December 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
- Lyons, Tom (1 April 1988). "Pulitzer Prize Winner Got Her Start on Newspaper at Pulaski". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Retrieved 2018-12-24 – via Newspapers.com. and "Pulitzer". Green Bay Press-Gazette. 1 April 1988. p. A2. Retrieved 2018-12-24 – via Newspapers.com.
- Rudd, Elizabeth (6 March 2015). "Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist Speaks at UI". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Retrieved 24 December 2018 – via EBSCOhost.
- "Picture". Star Tribune. 17 July 1983. Retrieved 2018-12-24 – via Newspapers.com.
- "St. Paul Reporter Wins Pulitzer Prize". Argus-Leader. 1 April 1988. Retrieved 2018-12-24 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Jacqui Banaszynski". Herstory. Archived from the original on 19 June 2017. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
- "The 1986 Pulitzer Prize Finalist in International Reporting". The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
- Woltman, Nick (2016-07-25). "Pulitzer Prize-winning series humanized AIDS crisis, divided Pioneer Press readers". Twin Cities. Archived from the original on 15 September 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
- "The 1988 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Feature Writing". The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
- "People & Places". Quill. 91 (2): 37. 2003 – via EBSCOhost.
- Moody, Kathryn (12 February 2015). "Pulitzer-winner Banaszynski urges reporters to have 'courage to care'". IU Bloomington. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-24.