Pulitzer inquiry reaches back to 1932 winner

NEW YORK - A Pulitzer Prize awarded in 1932 to a New York Times correspondent is under review and could be revoked because of complaints that he deliberately ignored the forced famine in the Ukraine that killed millions.

The review of Walter Duranty's work was launched in April by a Pulitzer subcommittee. No Pulitzer has ever been revoked in the 86 years that the prize has been awarded.

Members of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America joined Ukrainians worldwide this year in urging the withdrawal of Duranty's award, said president Michael Sawkiw Jr., adding that more than 15,000 postcards and thousands more letters and e-mails were sent to the Pulitzer Board.

"Exactly like Jayson Blair, the heart of all this is journalistic integrity and ethics," said Sawkiw, referring to the Times reporter who was found to have falsified and plagiarized dozens of stories.

The effort was timed to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the famine, which claimed as many as 7-million Ukrainian lives. Josef Stalin's regime created the famine to force Ukrainian peasants into surrendering their land.

"Like any significant complaint, we take them seriously," Sig Gissler, administrator of the Pulitzer Board, said Tuesday of the charges against Duranty. "They are under review by a board subcommittee, and all aspects and ramifications will be considered."

Duranty covered the Soviet Union for the Times from 1922 to 1941, earning acclaim for an exclusive 1929 interview with Stalin.

But Duranty was eventually exposed for reporting the Communist line rather than the facts. According to the 1990 book Stalin's Apologist, Duranty knew of the famine but ignored the atrocities to preserve his access to Stalin.

The Times has also distanced itself from Duranty's work. The reporter's 1932 Pulitzer is displayed with this caveat: "Other writers in the Times and elsewhere have discredited this coverage."

This was not the first time that the Pulitzer Board has reconsidered its award to Duranty. A similar probe in 1990 ended with a decision to let the Pulitzer stand.

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