For Steve Dykes ‘82, his third Pulitzer Prize was the charm. Dykes, a photojournalist, had already won two Pulitzers from work with The Los Angeles Times. In those cases, the whole paper won in 1993 for coverage of the Los Angles riots and in 1995 for the Northridge earthquake. This year’s award held special significance for Dykes because of its focus on photojournalistic excellence. The award, given to the Denver Rocky Mountain News in Colorado where he is a photo editor, recognized the photo team for its coverage of the student shootings at Columbine High School.

“This was a good one because it was strictly for photography,” said Dykes. “It was a very hard thing to cover emotionally for everybody, so it was good to be rewarded.”

When initial word of the shootings reached the newspaper, the enormity of the situation wasn’t immediately clear.

Dykes said the Rocky Mountain News sent one photographer to the high school and then sent more and more as the scope of the situation became known. Calls came in to the photo staff from all over the country and the world asking for photographs from Columbine. The Associated Press gave the newspaper a special commendation for its role in supplying other news media with photographs.

Witnessing the aftermath of the shootings wasn’t the only difficult aspect of covering the Columbine shootings. Dykes and his colleagues had to navigate the community anger directed toward them as national media outlets descended on the town. Dykes said that many townspeople ceased to distinguish local media from outsiders and even ceased to distinguish among different forms.

“Events like Columbine, earthquakes and riots test your ability as a journalist. I’m most proud that when those moments came, I responded well and was surrounded by good groups of professionals.” —Steve Dykes, '82

“They ask what channel you work for, even if you are holding a still camera,” he said.

Though Dykes has recently worked under increased pressures, he has had years of media experience to help prepare him. Dykes was working as a photojournalist before he graduated from the SOJC. While finishing his bachelor’s, Dykes started working at The Register-Guard as an intern. He then began working for them part-time before moving to Portland after graduation. He claims humble beginnings to his Pulitzer recognized career.

“Basically, I just started doing it because it was fun and you could get into football games free,” he says.

His free-lance work included stints for The Register-Guard, The Oregonian and the Associated Press. He freelanced for The Los Angeles Times for three years, before being hired full-time and working on staff for another seven years. Dykes won a World Press Photo Award in 1993. In 1995 he and his family moved to Denver where he began his current job as a photo editor at the Denver Rocky Mountain News.

Dykes feels he won Pulitzers for work that truly tested his skills.

“Events like Columbine, earthquakes and riots test your ability as a journalist,” he said. “I’m most proud that when those moments came, I responded well and was surrounded by good groups of professionals.”