Photographer: Meg VogelDan Horn hugs project editor Amy Wilson (left) and reporter Terry DeMio (right) after the Pulitzer Prize announcement.
Ohio University alumnus Dan Horn was the lead writer on The Cincinnati Enquirer story, “Seven Days of Heroin,” which on April 16 won the newspaper’s second-ever Pulitzer Prize. The story finished first in the local reporting category.
Horn and Terry DeMio, The Enquirer's heroin reporter, led a team of more than 60 reporters, videographers and photographers who worked on the project. Horn was kind enough to share a few of his thoughts with Compass readers.
What are your general thoughts on winning a Pulitzer Prize?
HORN: It was a great day. Everyone in the newsroom had at least some piece of this project, so everyone celebrated together when we got the news. I don’t think too many people do this job thinking they’ll win a Pulitzer someday. I know I didn’t. So when it happens, it’s a real stunner. And gratifying, too, because I know how hard everyone worked.
How important was the story to create awareness in the community and nation about the epidemic?
HORN: Our hope is that the story helps people see a problem that maybe they had stopped seeing. The heroin epidemic has been around a long time and there’s some fatigue that comes with that. You start to tune out a little bit. That’s a problem for journalists, as well as readers.
How much work did you and the team put into the story?
HORN: I first talked about this story with Terry DeMio about three years ago, and she and I had worked on some stories together about the heroin problem. We were concerned that people were becoming a little numb to the epidemic and that news stories weren’t getting through the daily noise of the news cycle. We got buy-in from our editors in 2017, when our editors, Amy Wilson and Peter Bhatia, told us to launch. Things moved pretty fast from that point. All told, the planning, reporting, production and writing of the entire project probably took about four months.
Did you think you had a great chance to win the Pulitzer?
HORN: Not at all. None of us saw this coming. We knew the story had been popular with readers and that it had gotten some buzz in journalism circles, but I had no expectation this would contend for a Pulitzer. Until Terry DeMio, who covers the heroin epidemic for us, and I got word around noon on announcement day that it might be a finalist, I never seriously considered the possibility. I was still trying to get my head around the idea that we might be finalists when we all gathered to watch the livestream. When they announced the win, we went nuts. It was a really nice surprise.
How did you celebrate the win?
HORN: Lots of hugs and high fives and calls home to our families. It was a nice moment for everyone in the newsroom to share.
How do you anticipate the award changing your career going forward?
HORN: Well, the next day I worked until about 10 p.m. covering a marathon City Council meeting, so the grace period was short. The same was true for everyone else. We were thrilled and gratified, but stuff still had to get done. So I don’t have any long-term expectations. My hope for the rest of my career is to be able to keep doing work I really care about. This project was a great example of that kind of work and I’m thinking there’s more to do.
What role has your E.W. Scripps School of Journalism education played in your career?
HORN: I got a great education from the professors at Scripps, from my work at The Post and from the internships I was able to land because of Scripps’ reputation. I worked in a newsroom every summer from my sophomore year on. You can’t match that experience coming out of college. It gave me a good idea of what this business was about before I ever tried to make a living at it.
Do you plan on coming back to OHIO to talk to the students about the Pulitzer Prize?
HORN: I’d be happy to come back if Scripps will have me. Several OHIO grads worked on this project, so we can probably car pool.