Thomas "Tom" Jeffrey Knudson (born 6 July 1953) is an American journalist and a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner in 1985 and 1992.

Tom Knudson
Born
Thomas Jeffrey Knudson

(1953-07-06) July 6, 1953 (age 71)
Alma materIowa State University
OccupationJournalist
Notable work"The Sierra in Peril"
AwardsPulitzer Prize (2)

Biography

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Thomas Jeffrey Knudson was born 6 July 1953 in the city of Manning in Carroll County, Iowa.[1] He attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Council Bluffs, Iowa, graduating the class of 1971.[1] In 1980, he graduated with a B.A. degree in journalism from Iowa State University (ISU).[2]

After graduation in June 1980, Knudson joined The Des Moines Register as a full-time journalist.[1] And later becoming the lead for the Iowa City news journal for The Des Moines Register.[1]

In 1985, Knudson created a series of articles published in The Des Moines Register that examined the occupational dangers of farming, including high cancer rates and machinery-related accidents.[3][4] A number of his family members were farmers in the Manning-area, and when he was a boy, his cousin had been run over by a tractor.[3] This article won him the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting.[4]

Knudson's' "The Sierra in Peril," article was published in The Sacramento Bee which looked in depth at the environmental issues in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California.[5] He won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for this article.[5][6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Fischer, Heinz Dietrich; Fischer, Erika J. (2002). Complete Biographical Encyclopedia of Pulitzer Prize Winners, 1917-2000: Journalists, Writers and Composers on Their Ways to the Coveted Awards. Walter de Gruyter. p. 130. ISBN 3598301707 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "Distinguished Alumni". Iowa State University, Office of Admissions. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Winners of the Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism, Letters and the Arts". The New York Times. April 25, 1985. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Thomas J. Knudson of Des Moines Register". www.pulitzer.org. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  5. ^ a b "The Sacramento (CA) Bee". www.pulitzer.org. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  6. ^ Shaw, David (April 8, 1992). "Series on Sierras Garners Pulitzer for Sacramento Bee: Awards: Newspaper also wins reporting prize. Both Newsday and N.Y. Times win 2 honors each". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved November 19, 2018.