Forget fictional characters like Lois Lane and Murphy Brown. Dana Priest is a real-life role model for delivering powerful investigative journalism that shakes the corridors of power.
If it weren’t for Priest’s curiosity and persistence, most Americans probably never would have learned about their government’s use of secret prisons throughout the world and its practice of “extraordinary rendition,” covertly shipping terrorist suspects and others to nations where they could be tortured without fear of legal ramifications.
Closer to home, it was also Priest’s groundbreaking work with a colleague at The Washington Post that revealed the deplorable conditions injured U.S. veterans endured at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, from mold and bug and mice infestation to outdated equipment and shoddy facilities. The revelations prompted a congressional investigation and personal attention by President Bush.
Both series won Priest a Pulitzer Prize, in 2006 and 2008 respectively.
She presents a lecture, "Adventures in Journalism," at 4 p.m. Monday at Miami University's Hall Auditorium.
Read Kevin Osborne's interview with Priest here.
