THE BEST JOURNALISM isn’t always found in the biggest newsrooms. John and Ramsey Archibald, father and son reporters from Birmingham, Alabama, won a 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting for their AL.com work exposing the fraudulent and predatory practices of the Brookside, Alabama police department. The Archibalds, along with investigative editors Ashley Remkus and Challen Stephens, reported how members of the Brookside police unfairly issued traffic and other citations leading to a 600 percent increase in fee revenue taken in by the department from 2018 to 2020. The reporting team’s 2022 series of articles resulted in the passage of an Alabama law limiting the amount of fine revenue cities are allowed to keep from traffic stops, an audit of Brookside by the state, and the resignation of the Brookside police chief and several other police officers. John told the Atlantic earlier this year, “Watching your kid go into journalism is like hearing he wants to rappel into a volcano to rescue a puppy. Sure, there is pride, because I believe the work is crucial. Journalism is hard, but what isn’t these days?” – MANDA OVERTURF SHANK
At AL.com, we have been working primarily from home since just after the start of the pandemic. For me, this is the fifth iteration of the “home office” across three different houses. We bought our current house in 2021, and when we found out we were having a baby last year, the home office was moved once again. Now I’m stuffed into the corner of the dining room in our 100-year-old two-bed one-bath. On the plus side, the natural light is great, and I’m right next to the kitchen for convenient midday snacks.– RAMSEY ARCHIBALD
Chaos. Dog beds. Ibuprofen. Vain pics my family didn’t want in the living room. A book of four leaf clovers that tell my story like a memoir. Cords, twine, and a printer that hates me. A Peter Catapano book and handwritten notes I really can’t read after three days. It is a desk that is the representation of my mind itself. It’s a wonder I can think at all.– JOHN ARCHIBALD
