If you’re addicted to news Twitter, then you know that Vice is currently circulating a viral video about the Pasco County Sheriff's Office using computer modeling to identify people believed to be future criminals. Vice’s video could not exist without Kathleen McGrory and Neil Bedi, whose “Targeted” investigation just brought the Tampa Bay Times its first Pulitzer Prize in five years.
The news was announced virtually on Friday and earned the Times its third Pulitzer (pronounced “pull-it-sir”) for Local Reporting; the Times is the only U.S. newspaper to win the Local Reporting prize three times. It’s the Times 13th Pulitzer overall and the local paper of record’s first since 2016, the same year the Times bought and abruptly closed Tampa Bay’s 123-year-old daily newspaper the Tampa Tribune.
McGory and Bendi’s “Targeted” series was so damning that even slimeball Matt Gaetz called for Gov. Ron DeSantis to consider removing Sheriff Chris Nocco for violating the privacy rights of citizens, including children.
Bendi and McGory listened to the Pulitzer announcement from McGory’s living room. A Pulitzer Prize comes with $15,000 from the Pulitzer Center, which issues prizes for journalism, books, drama and music. Times spokesperson and Editorial Board member Sherri Day told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that staff members are planning an outdoor celebration later today.
In the meantime, pony up some cash and subscribe to the Times—your rights probably depend on it.
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This article appears in Jun 17-23, 2021.