Two Pulitzer Prize winners will discuss the process of investigating and writing award-winning news stories in the Brad D. Smith Foundation Hall April 2 at 7 p.m.

“Path to Pulitzer: Journalism and the Informed Citizen” will feature John Hackworth, a 1971 Marshall University graduate in the journalism program, who worked for the Herald-Dispatch, the Daily Independent in Kentucky and Sun Newspapers in Florida, who also was a winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 2016 for editorial writing about inmate abuse, and Eric Eyre, an employee at the Charleston Gazette-Mail and winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting about the opioid epidemic in West Virginia.

“On the surface, the audience can expect to hear just what’s described—an account of the development of the winning stories and a discussion of staying informed in the current media environment,” Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Media Janet Dooley said. “Those discussions, however, should underline the criticality of solid journalism in spotlighting issues of concern in a community and in helping us envision solutions.”

Journalism professor Dan Hollis will be moderating the talk.

“If you know Hollis, you should be familiar with his ease and command in front of an audience and his ability to generate insightful, probing questions,” Dooley said.

Dooley said this talk will give students the opportunity to talk journalists with this level of distinction and expand their knowledge on journalistic practices.

“I hope participants will gain a deeper understanding of how purposeful developing a thorough news story is; it’s not done on the fly,” Dooley said. “These stories are difficult to excavate and require time, commitment, patience, fortitude and, sometimes, risk.”

This event will be free and open to the public with a reception following the talk and refreshments provided.

Michaela Crittenden can be contacted at [email protected].