THE VIRGIN ISLANDS DAILY NEWS

The '''Virgin Islands Daily News''' is a daily newspaper in the United States Virgin Islands headquartered on the island of Saint Thomas. In 1995 the newspaper became one of the smallest ever to win journalism's most prestigious award, the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. The newspaper is published 6 days a week; every day except Sunday. The paper maintains its main office on Saint Thomas and a smaller bureau on Saint Croix.

Contents

Business history

Journalism awards

References

External links

Business history

The ''Virgin Islands Daily News'' was founded by Ariel Melchior Sr. in 1930, with partner J. Antonio Jarvis and $1,000 borrowed from family and friends. Melchior was only 21 at the time. The paper was founded with the motto: "More and Better Business for St. Thomas." In 1940, Melchior bought out Jarvis's share of the company.
In 1978, after serving as publisher for nearly 50 years, Melchior sold the newspaper to the Gannett Company for $3.5 million. Melchior is credited with instilling the newspapers aggressive journalism. After the sale, Melchior remained involved with the paper. Under Gannett the paper won a Pulitzer Prize, but in 1997, Jeffrey L. Prosser, a businessman of whom the newspaper had been critical offered Gannett $17 million for the paper.
On July 31, 2006 Prosser's company Innovative Communications Corp. declared bankruptcy after defaulting on loans. In February of 2007 a trustee was appointed to manage the assets, including the ''Virgin Island Daily News''.

Journalism awards

In 1994, the paper had a circulation of 16,400 and a staff of just 18 full-time editors and reporters. In June of 1994 the newspaper started an inquiry into why there had been little investigation into the death of a policeman known for integrity. The reports resulted in a 10-part series "Virgin Island Crime: Who's to Blame?" The series determined that the police were catching too few criminals, that prosecutors were losing too many cases and judges were handing out light sentences. The chief reporter of the series, Melvin Claxton, received such severe threats that he relocated his family to the U.S. mainland.^[2]
The series created a stir on the islands. After the articles ran, a new police commissioner and attorney general were appointed for the U.S. Virgin Islands, and a top narcotics official quit.
In 1995, the series was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. The Pulitzer Committee made the citation: "Awarded to The Virgin Islands Daily News, St. Thomas, for its disclosure of the links between the region's rampant crime rate and corruption in the local criminal justice system. The reporting, largely the work of Melvin Claxton, initiated political reforms."
The ''Virgin Islands Daily News'' with limited resources, beat out the much larger ''Charlotte Observer'' and the ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' to claim the prize. The ''Virgin Islands Daily News'' is one of the smallest newspapers to ever win the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, the smallest being ''The Point Reyes Light'' in Marin County, California.
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The paper has continued to pursue award-winning journalism. In 2003, the Society of Professional Journalists awarded the ''Virgin Islands Daily News'' with its public service award for small circulation newspapers for an investigation into the use of deadly force by Virgin Islands police. In 2007 the paper won the Associated Press Managing Editors Award for Public Service in the small circulation category for its investigation into incompetence and corruption in the police department's major crimes unit.

References

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External links

★ The Virgin Islands Daily News on the Web