Pulitzer Prize winner Sarah Ganim speaks about her coverage of the Penn State scandal

Friday the Theater of Baker Center was full with anticipation of hearing journalist Sara Ganim speak. Ganim, a 24-year-old crime reporter for The Patriot-News, followed the story of the Jerry Sandusky Penn State involvement in the Penn State scandal.
 
Sandusky was indicted of 40 counts of sexual abuse of young boys. Three years prior to being indicted, Sandusky was investigated for allegations of inappropriate contact with a 15-year-old boy that lasted fours years, beginning when he was 10 years old.
 
The day after the scandal broke Ganim published a story in which she interviewed the mothers of two of the suspected victims. This story, and her continued involvement with the story, would later lead to her winning the Pulitzer Prize for local reporting.
 
Eager to learn from her expertise, audience members lined up to ask her questions. When asked how she came about this story and how she handled it, she gave the crowd some very useful advice. She went on to explain how she spent numerous weekends seeking out the families of the victims. Rather than focusing on Penn State’s football program, Ganim wanted to return the focus to the victims of this sexual abuse. Instead of emailing or calling her sources, she went to their homes to confront them face-to-face. Something, she said, that does not happen very often in today’s day and age. 
 
Soon enough we will be out in the real world, with a real job, trying to make a name for ourselves. Before the event came to an end, Ganim left the inspiring journalists in the crowd with a few pieces of advice. After every interview, as a journalist, you should ask, “What else is new?,” or “What else is going on that I should know about?” These questions are what led Ganim to begin investigating the allegations surrounding Jerry Sandusky. As far as social media goes, Ganim advised journalists to treat Facebook and Twitter like a live newspaper. This will keep you from posting something that may get you in trouble.
 
Photo courtesy of the Athens News.