Confusing disability and tragedy Assignment: Reporters need to explore why it is so difficult for society to see the human being underneath a disfigurement or disability. By Beth A. Haller Originally published April 29, 2001, The Baltimore Sun Coping with adversity. The recent Pulitzer Prizes in journalism confirm that this theme is still a winner. The Oregonian won the 2001 prize for best feature writing a few weeks ago with its series on Sam Lightner, a teen with a facial deformity. It is poignant and gripping, as it draws the reader into his life and his decisions about trying to “fix” his face surgically. Like all good journalism, the series is well-written and researched. It has a depth that actually puts the reader into the scenes within Sam Lightner’s life. However, I am concerned about the messages these “coping with adversity” stories send to society about people who are physically different. I hope they promote acceptance, but I fear they sometimes promote pity. A few years ago, I conducted a study of national journalism award winners that dealt with disability or illness from 1984 to 1999. In those 56 stories, I was looking for the cultural messages about disability and illness hidden within the prize-winning stories. I looked at winners from Pulitzers to Peabodys and from magazine awards to Society of Professional Journalists awards. The idea for the study came from previous research into the news values of National Press Photographers Association winners, which found that that award- winning feature photos most often fell into a content category called “coping with adversity.” Another prominent content area was illness or disability. Prestigious journalism awards signal “validation” of excellence for newspapers, magazines, and TV news. But these award-winning stories also forcefully put information about disability or illness onto the public agenda and put images of people with disabilities into the news. Because of their prestigious status, these prize winners remain in the public’s consciousness much longer and provide models for younger journalists. Put succinctly, these stories have staying power. So my concern is about the impact of these award-winning stories on attitudes toward people with disabilities.