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Eugene C. Pulliam Fellowship for Editorial Writing

Urban Agenda Focus of Detroit Editorial Writer

Since August 2007, Pulliam Editorial Fellow Jeff Gerritt of the Detroit Free Press has been examining problems facing urban American and how we can best confront these problems.

In 2000, Gerritt started writing editorials and columns on urban issues, criminal justice, prison, and housing issues. He left the comfort of his office and chose to report these stories from the streets to better understand what was facing area residents. His experiences in metro Detroit have given him an up close look at the problems of America’s older cities.

Gerritt’s upcoming editorial series will show why it’s important for America to have an urban agenda and what that agenda should include. Over the first nine months of 2008, the Detroit Free Press will present Gerrit’s series of editorials with an eye toward shaping election-year debates on the state and national levels.

The Sigma Delta Chi Foundation awarded Gerritt the Eugene C. Pulliam Editorial Writing Fellowship in 2007.

Read Gerritt’s series, "Cities Now and Tomorrow."

The Eugene C. Pulliam Fellowship was first offered in 1977. It is funded by a grant from Mrs. Eugene C. Pulliam, honoring the memory of her husband, one of the original members of the Society and former publisher of The Indianapolis Star, The Indianapolis News, The Arizona Republic and The Phoenix Gazette.

Founded in 1961, the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation is dedicated to ensuring that those who carry on the tradition of a free press are prepared for the challenge. Its goal is to support the educational programs of the Society of Professional Journalists and to serve the professional needs of journalists and students pursuing careers in journalism.