2010 Pulitzer Prize winners for Journalism: Awarded to the Bristol (VA) Herald Courier for the work of Daniel Gilbert in illuminating the murky mismanagement of natural-gas royalties owed to thousands of land owners in southwest Virginia, spurring remedial action by state lawmakers.
Gilbert spend over 13 months to get to the bottom of the issue, and this investigation also involved data mining knowledge to catch the irregularities. His work uncovered millions in delinquent payments to landowners thanks to a Virginia law that allowed natural gas companies to set up a complicated royalty system that often never meted out money to its rightful owners. It resulted in making changes in this law which are currently being reviewed.
About Pulitzer Prize:
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper journalism, literature and musical composition. Prizes are awarded yearly in twenty-one categories. In twenty of these, each winner receives a certificate and a US$10,000 cash award.
Tags: Data Mining, news