Daniel Gilbert, AB’05, wins Pulitzer for public service journalism

Daniel Gilbert, AB'05, has won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in public service journalism, for a series of stories he wrote for the Herald Courier of Bristol, Va., on mismanagement of natural-gas royalties.

The public service Pulitzer is considered among the highest honors in journalism, awarded each year "for the most disinterested and meritorious public service rendered by an American newspaper during the year." Although the public service gold medal always is presented to a newspaper, not an individual reporter, this year's citation named Gilbert as the author of the investigative series.

A speaker of English, French and Spanish, Gilbert received his AB from the University in international studies and wrote for the Maroon newspaper on campus. He joined the Herald Courier as a staff writer in 2007.

Gilbert's series focused on how the state of Virginia handles royalties from its billion-dollar natural gas business, and the difficulties facing holders of mineral rights who wish to share in the earnings.