Julie Cart, born in Louisiana,
is an American journalist. She won the 2009
Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting
The Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting has been presented since 1998, for a distinguished example of explanatory reporting that illuminates a significant and complex subject, demonstrating mastery of the subject, lucid writing and clear p ...
, with her colleague,
Bettina Boxall, for their series of stories looking at the cost and effectiveness of combating wildfires in the western United States.
She has worked for the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' and several other news organizations.
She currently covers environmental issues in the California state capitol as a writer with ''CalMatters''
While attending
Arizona State University, she was a track and field athlete.
She held the ninth all-time record in the discus throw in 1980, and won the women's championship at the 1976 Intermountain Conference Championships; she also made the U.S. Olympic trials.
Education and background
Cart began showing an interest in writing during her high school years when she was editor of the school newspaper.
At the same time, she was writing news briefs as an unpaid student for her local paper.
Cart graduated from Arizona State University, with a B.S., in
Journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...
, in 1980.
She attended on an athletic scholarship
and was one of the first women's conference champion's in
Arizona State's track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...
history, winning the 1976 Intermountain Conference Championships for the
discus throw.
Cart held the university's 9th all-time discus throw record in 1980, at 52.04 meters.
Cart was inducted into the
Cronkite School Alumni Hall of Fame in 1988.
She's married to an
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
journalist, who she met in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, at the Australian Open.
Career
Following her time in high school as a mainly unpaid reporter, Cart took on the role of "copy kid" at ''
The Arizona Republic
''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...
'',
and thereafter joined ''
United Press International
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...
'' (UPI) in
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...
as a reporter.
In 1983, she became a reporter for the Metro Section at the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'', later becoming national
correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...
. As an award-winning sportswriter, she covered the
1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy,
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
,
Summer Olympic Games,
Wimbledon, boxing in
China,
soccer in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
and apartheid athletes in South Africa.
Eventually, she left the sports department to become the bureau chief with the ''Times'' National staff in
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
.
In 2003, Cart joined the environmental staff, reporting on public lands and
endangered species.
Throughout her career at the ''LA Times'', Cart has focused on investigations and special projects. Cart has covered multiple topics in her ''LA Times'' reporting including
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
polygamy
Crimes
Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is ...
, the
Columbine High School massacre, post-911 and the recovery of
Hurricane Katrina.
In 2009, Cart and fellow journalist, Bettina Boxall, were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting.
The prize was for their 15-month investigation, leading up to the series of "Big Burn" stories, exploring the cost and effectiveness of fighting wildfires in the western United States.
The series of stories are listed below.
* "Big Burn: Out of control?" ''Los Angeles Times'', Bettina Boxall and Julie Cart, July 27, 2008.
* "Big Burn: Just for show?" ''Los Angeles Times'', Bettina Boxall and Julie Cart, July 29, 2008.
* "A politician gets his way," ''Los Angeles Times'', Julie Cart, July 29, 2008.
* "Big Burn: In harms way," ''Los Angeles Times'', Bettina Boxall, July 31, 2008.
* "Big Burn: Small trees, large threat," ''Los Angeles Times'', Bettina Boxall, July 31, 2008.
* "Big Burn:Beige plague," ''Los Angeles Times'', Bettina Boxall, August 2, 2008.
* "Big Burn: On their own," ''Los Angeles Times'', Julie Cart, August 3, 2008.
In 2015 Cart joined ''CALmatters'', a journalism organization covering California's state capitol. She covers the environment beat.
Awards
* 1983 Third place for Investigative Reporting, from the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
Sports Editors award
* 1984 First place for Best Sports Story and Best News Story from the UPI-California Nevada Association
* 1987 The Greater Los Angeles Press Club awarded her first place for the Best Sports Story
* 1990 Honorable mention for Enterprise Reporting and two years later fifth place for Enterprise Reporting
* 1993 The
Women's Sports Foundation
The Women's Sports Foundation (WSF) is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit charity focused on female involvement in sports. Founded in 1974 by tennis player Billie Jean King and initially supported by Olympic athletes Donna de Varona and Suzy Chaffe ...
Award
* 1995 Second place for Enterprise Reporting
* 2005 Second place, the Kevin Carmody Award for Outstanding Investigative Reporting awarded by the
Society of Environmental Journalists
The Society of Environmental Journalists is a non-profit national journalism organization created by and for journalists who report environmental topics in the news media. On its website, the organization says that "SEJ’s mission is to strength ...
* 2006 Honorable mention from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism in the John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism
* 2009 The Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting with colleague Bettina Boxall, ''Los Angeles Times''
* 2010 The Mary Garber Pioneer Award from the
Association for Women in Sports Media, and third place for Outstanding Explanatory Reporting for "Writing on the Wall," from the Society of Environmental Journalists.
* 2018 Recipient of the SEAL Environmental Journalism Award in recognition of her environmental coverage
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cart, Julie
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication alumni
American women journalists
Journalists from Louisiana
Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism winners