On April 5, 2011, English journalist Brian Deer won Specialist Journalist of the Year from the British Press Awards for the second time. The second award was for Deer’s investigation that uncovered the fraudulent nature of Andrew Wakefield’s long discredited MMR research. Wakefield sued Deer in January, and Deer responded with an Anti-SLAPP motion on March 9.

Here in the United States, the most prominent press awards are the Pulitzer Prizes. Since the 2012 winners are going to be announced next Monday, I thought it might be good to take a look back at past Pulitzers which are relevant to skepticism. There have been at least five. Two concern cults, and three more relate to evolution.

 

Many skeptics are familiar with the Tampa Bay Times' recent investigations into Scientology. But those investigations actually go back decades. On April 14, 1980 the paper (then called the St. Petersburg Times) won a Pulitzer Prize for this work. Bette Orsini, one of the two reporters who won that award, passed away in March 2011.

Another investigation of that era that won a Pulitzer was into a group called Synanon. It had started as a drug rehab program, but had mutated into a sort of new age religious cult. A weekly newspaper called The Point Reyes Light investigated criminal behavior on the part of the cult, and won the award on April 16, 1979.

The earliest Pulitzer relating to evolution dates from the time of the Scopes Trial, but in the adjacent state of Georgia. The Enquirer-Sun in Columbus, Georgia was given a Pulitzer on May 3, 1926 for Public Service, for (among other things) its editorials against a proposed ban on teaching evolution.

Two other evolution related Pulitzers were for science books. On April 17, 1978 skeptic icon Carl Sagan won a Pulitzer for his book The Dragons of Eden, which was about the evolution of human intelligence.

And on April 18, 1995 Jonathan Weiner’s book The Beak of the Finch won a Pulitzer as well. That book told the story of scientists who were observing evolution in progress in the Galapagos islands, refuting the creationist argument that evolution has never been observed.

You can get a daily dose of the history of skepticism with JREF’s free Today in Skeptic History app for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Or subscribe for a daily fact on Twitter or Facebook.

(This essay originally appeared in a slightly different form on Skepticality episode #153)

Tim Farley is a Research Fellow for JREF.