North Carolina Rabbit Hole

North Carolina Rabbit Hole

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North Carolina Rabbit Hole
North Carolina Rabbit Hole
The tiny North Carolina newspaper that won a Pulitzer Prize

The tiny North Carolina newspaper that won a Pulitzer Prize

Reporters at the Washington Daily News found out there was a cancer-causing chemical in the city water supply. Their reporting changed a law, saved lives, and won journalism's highest honor.

Jeremy Markovich's avatar
Jeremy Markovich
May 09, 2023
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North Carolina Rabbit Hole
North Carolina Rabbit Hole
The tiny North Carolina newspaper that won a Pulitzer Prize
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pic of reporters drinking champagne
Betty Gray’s picture in the New York Times, April 1990.

In February of 1989, just a few months into her job at the tiny Washington Daily News, Betty Gray got a phone call, asking her to look into the city water supply. I’ll do it when I can, she said. A week later, she got another one. I’ll do it next week, she replied. Then another. I’ll do it today, she said.

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