I appreciate it.
♪♪
geoff: This week's pulitzer
prizes included recognitions for
many national major news
organizations.
But as William brangham reports,
one local news organization in
Alabama also received multiple
prizes yesterday, including a
father-son duo.
William: A team of reporters
revealed how the police force
used aggressive leasing and made
up charges to extract fines out
of many poor residents to jack
up town revenues.
The multipart investigation led
to the dismissal of multiple
cases, the removal of several
police officers including the
chief, changes to state laws,
and even a warning to officials
nationwide by the department of
justice to avoid doing exactly
what this police force did.
Joining me now are two of the
reporters who worked on this
prize winning investigation,
John Archibald and his son,
Ramsey Archibald.
Gentlemen, thank you both so
much for being here.
Congratulations to you both.
John, to start with you again,
tremendous congratulations.
I should say, this is your
second pulitzer prize.
Can I just get your reaction to
this wonderful news?
>> It's the most fantastic thing
in the in the world to me and in
the history of my 37 years in
the business.
Now it's both the story which,
you know, was impactful and did
what we set out to do.
But the fact that you get to do
it with your kid is the greatest
thing in the world.
William: And I bet that is.
Ramsey, what was that like for
you?
>> Working with with not only my
dad, but the team that we had
was amazing.
I mean, so everyone on this team
prior to this had already won a
pulitzer prize outside of me.
So, you know, great company to
be in, obviously, and to go
through this, again, we are in
separate cities right now, but
to be able to win this with my
dad, I am speechless.
William: I mean, for people who
don't know this, Ramsey, I mean,
your dad is, as you well know,
is kind of a big deal in
Alabama.
He's really one of the best
known reporters and columnists
there.
What is that like going into the
newsroom every day?
Like, did he did he pile on
extra work so as not to seem
like he was favoring you or did
he cut some slack?
What was that like?
>> Oh, he made it clear he was
not going to favor me in any way
in the newsroom.
And I wouldn't have wanted that
either.
But it is true.
I mean, you know, we would go
before I started working at the
website, we would as a child, we
would be walking to the grocery
store and people would recognize
him from having his face on the
cover of the newspaper three
times a week.
And so I was very aware of who
he was.
Outside of our family my whole
life, which is sort of
intimidating in some ways, but
it's also pretty cool.
William: And John, how about you
when when when ramsay says to
you, dad, I'm thinking about
this journalism thing. I see
it's worked out pretty great for
you.
You seem to like it.
What was your advice to him?
>> I mean, to be honest, I think
that I don't I don't think I
gave him much advice other than,
you know, it's a tough business
to be in.
It was tough when the when the
industry was, you know, in the
so-called golden age of
journalism.
But it's so important now.
It's just so much more important
for young, creative, smart,
honest kids to go into this
business and usher us into the
future, whatever that looks like
.
I'm just glad I have a kid that,
that meets all of those
qualifications.
So, I don't want to influence
him in any way in terms of what
he should do.
He should do what he wants to do
if it makes him happy. And it
seems to be doing that.
William: And John, you mentioned
some of this at the beginning,
that your investigation
triggered a lot of changes, at
the local level, the doj even
sort of reached out to officials
nationwide saying don't do these
kinds of things.
How gratifying is that to you?
I mean, a lot of times we do in
journalism a lot of work, and it
seems like people don't respond
but here you really did affect
some changes.
That's got to be incredibly
gratifying, too.
>> And super gratifying in this
particular environment.
You know, and especially in a
place like Alabama where we have
a super majority of one party
and to see people, you know,
legislators cross the aisles to
recognize that this was bad, to
the four pieces of legislation
that came out of this limiting
how fines and fees can be used,
it was great.
And the fact that we sort of
were able to make people
understand, find it, and it was
a big deal.
But when large numbers of people
began to have charges dropped
and to sort of get a new lease
on life, they came to us and
said, thank you because I got my
life back.
That's better than any stories
about corruption or sleazy
public officials we've ever
done.
I mean, you know, people are
getting a second chance, and
it's like money.
William: Ramsey, I see you
nodding your head along there.
What what would you add to that?
It must be just a tremendous
feeling to have that kind of an
impact.
>> Oh, absolutely.
It's great to be to win this
award, to be recognized for the
work that we have done.
But we would have been so proud
of this work if it had won
nothing, just because of the
effects that it had, not only in
the legislature and across the
state, but for the actual people
here, which I think often gets
sort of swept under the rug or
lost in these sorts of stories.
So to me, I mean, you couldn't
ask for anything better than
that.
William: I know we're talking to
you in two separate cities, so I
take it you two have not seen
each other since the actual
award has been announced.
Do you guys have a celebration
planned when you finally get
back together?
>> You know, it's terrible that
you ask about a celebration
planned for me and my kid,
though I guarantee you some
tequila shots will be involved.
It is a tradition.
William: It's a key part of the