history, and more at c-span, created by america's television companies and brought to you as a public service by your cable or satellite provider. >> each week, "american artifacts," takes viewers into historic sites around the country. we visited the newseum's pulitzer prize photographs gallery. we will hear about the hunt gary and immigrant who created a newspaper empire in the late 19th century and the prices that carry his name. we will in the story behind his images. >> i'm the director behind this development at the newseum in washington dc and we are standing at the pulitzer prize

photographs gallery. the portrait behind me is joseph pulitzer who created the pulitzer prizes. he is one of the foremost journalist publishers of modern history. joseph pulitzer is an incredible american immigrant success story. he was born in hungary, he came to the united states to fight in lincoln's cavalry. he had a sense of adventure. he was not very happy in the army but when the civil war ended, he roamed around a bit but finally landed in st. louis where he got a job as a reporter for a german language newspaper.

he subsequently purchased another german language newspaper there, and expanded a bit. he created a powerful newspaper in st. louis. he expanded his empire to new york, taking over "the new york world," which at one point in time was the most read newspaper in the western world. he took its circulation and increased it tenfold in about a year. joseph pulitzer is interesting because he did not just influence journalism of his time. the things that he instituted and newspapers are seen today. that is why he is such a powerful force. sensationalism is the one word often linked with joseph pulitzer. we think of it today as tabloid journalism, but he was using sensationalism to right wrongs. he told stories in a dramatic and clear way so that his stories, many of his readers were not educated or english language speakers -- he used

things like images on the front page. he realized how powerful they could be for communication. he used sports coverage. it was usually about communicating with the elite, but he didn't want just the elite, he wanted mass numbers of people to read and be influenced. he would do muck raking and challenge the people in power. he did a story on police using billy clubs on innocent civilians. does that sound like anything happening today? he commissioned stories about a young woman and a teenager in new jersey who died of a botched abortion. when a younger accuser police officer of raping her in a dance hall basement, pulitzer

championed the story because the police officer was bragging his friends would get him off. he championed the girl and help support her mother and ultimately the officer was convicted. joseph pulitzer was a very passionate person. insatiably curious about things. he had a bit of a nervous aspect to his life. he had vision problems. i mentioned that he had been rejected by several armies in europe before he came to the united states. his vision grew poor. he had to step back from his work as publisher of "the new york world," but still continued to manage from afar. it made his work very difficult

for him at times. the singer sargent was foremost portrait painter in the late 18th century. he was painting many portraits of powerful people at the time. because he painted the pulitzer portrait, it is a sign of his lasting importance. you can see that one eye is spotted. you get a hint of the vision problems he was having. some people say he looks devilish and angelic at the same time. you get a sense of his passion for communication. you can draw your own conclusions from that. pulitzer always has a passion for drawing the best journalists and highlighting the best in

journalism. in his life, he was in a newspaper war. his newspaper and the paper he was fighting against, in a circulation war, were exaggerating things to the point where they may not have been true. joseph pulitzer came to regret that aspect of his career, so that is why he decided one of his legacies would be the creation of the columbia journalism school, one of the foremost journalism schools in the country, and also the pulitzer prize where he wants to highlight the best of journalism. the first pulitzer prize was awarded in 1917. the prize for photography was added in 1968. you can see in this gallery the results of the pulitzer prize highlighting these incredible

stories. i would say that his greatest legacy is the way that he brought newspapers to a mass audience. joseph pulitzer did not feel like he should writing just for the bankers and the lawyers, in society. he wanted to get information to the masses of working people who were crowding the city after the civil war for work opportunities. he created newspapers that did just that, that communicated directly with people, with images, cartoons, sports coverage, muckraking, challenging the powerful. all of these are things that we value in our newspapers, websites, and blogs today. >> i am the director of photography and visual resources here at the museum. we are at the newseum's pulitzer gallery. you can see every image that has ever won a pulitzer prize. we have 40 images displayed on the wall.

we are also able to see the other images on the thumbnail wall display and in the interactive kiosk. we also have a theater experience where people can see and hear the photographers themselves speaking about the photographs and how they made the story behind the story. the photograph "tragedy at sea" won the pulitzer prize in 1945. -- 1955. the photographer was working for "the l.a. times." he was at home when one of the neighbors reported something going on at the beach. he grabbed his camera, walked over, and finds this scene. this couple looking for their two-year-old son. the little boy had been playing in their backyard and somehow he got out and they realize that he has gone into the water and is nowhere to be found. he takes the photograph, grabs

the film, heads to the street, gives it to the bus driver, and says, take this to "the l.a. times." we know that most of the images have a lasting emotional impact. because we are all different, things impact us differently. but this image here has a universal emotional impact. just like the photographer, who had a small child about the same age, parents in particular find this image very impactful. this brings a very visceral fear as well as deep compassion. "the sinking of the andrea dorea" wins in 1957. the photographer was working for

"the boston traveler." the passengers of the andrea doria were enjoying their last night at sea. they were playing cards, dancing, enjoying their last night. at some point during the night, the radar identified another ship, the stockholm, but the radar information tells both ships that they should be fine passing one another. something goes wrong, the stockholm runs into the andrea dorea and a 40-foot hole is made and it starts sinking. chaos ensues. passengers are loaded into lifeboats and most of the passengers are rescued, though 51 people die in this disaster, mostly at the moment of impact. the next day, the press starts to cover what is happening as the ship is sinking.

however, the photographer engages the help of a private pilot and he does fly over to see the ship as it is beginning to sink. the conditions are not good and he is not a good flyer, so he starts getting violently airsick. he decides to stick with it and make the shot, he pulls himself together and starts photographing. as he looks down, the ship starts effectively sinking, for the very last time going down into the water and he captures that photo. this is how the airsick photographer captures the pulitzer prize. here, the newseum is very fortunate to count amongst its collection the original camera used to photograph the pulitzer prize-winning image sinking of the andrea doria. also, the original negatives are in the newseum collection.

the pulitzer prize in 1958, the photographer worked for the "washington daily news." he was part the same unit where joey rosenthal was. we know joey rosenthal, that he photographed that amazing image of the five marines and navy corpsmen raising the american flag in mt. suribachi on iwo jima. however, mr. beall was on the other side of the island so he was not able to capture that image. however, after that his opportunity came. he was sent by his paper to cover a parade in chinatown. as he was looking around, he realized that this is a pretty big parade.

he notices this tiny little boy looking at a policeman who is talking to him. what we cannot see is behind the policeman, there is a large dragon, part of the parade, and there are lots of firecrackers. so the policeman is trying to warn, gently, that tiny little boy to be careful because the firecrackers are everywhere. he is trying to make sure he is safe. so william beale makes the photograph. the policeman becomes the police chief in washington, d.c., the little boy stays away from the firecrackers, does not get hurt, grows up, his family moved with him to california, and he ends up working in the entertainment industry. so, these beautiful images -- image captures, freezes in

time, a moment of innocence in a child's life. two men with a problem wins the pulitzer prize in 1962. the photographer worked for the associated press. it is early in 1961, and there young kennedy administration is in trouble after the disastrous invasion of bay of pigs. fidel castro is very angry. americans are beginning to doubt the ability of kennedy to lead the country. he seeks counsel with former president eisenhower and they meet at camp david. the press is invited to take photographs of these meetings, and there are a lot of photographers there doing the coverage. salinger, the press secretary

for mr. kennedy, is in charge of the whole event and he lets everyone do what they need to do, and he eventually shuts it down. he closes the lid. the reporters start going, but this photographer is at the very beginning of the pack, and as he is crouching down, picking up his materials, he looks and hears eisenhower telling kennedy, i know somewhere where we can go and talk. as he is looking, he sees the picture, but he also realizes that to get the picture, it would be in between the legs of the secret service agent standing next to him. so this secret service agent had a nickname "moose." he said, moose, spread your legs. moose says, i cannot do that, he said the lid is closed.

he said, moose, spread your legs, i have a picture here. so moose spread his legs, he takes the picture, and the pulitzer prize is captured. it captures "two men with the problem," two men with the weight of the world on their soldiers. "jack ruby shoots lee harvey oswald" wins the pulitzer in 1964. the photographer worked for the "dallas herald." the assassination of president kennedy is burned into the consciousness of americans of a certain age. robert jackson had been working with a paper for three years and he was part of the brigade covering the the visit of president kennedy to dallas. as he is near the book depository, mr. jackson goes down to change his film. all of a sudden he hears shots.

he looks around and he hears three shots. he sees a rifle being retreated from the window of the book depository and is sitting on the ground without film in his camera. he missed covering that historic part of the story. however, mr. jackson continues to cover it throughout the weekend, and on sunday he learns that oswald will be taken to the city jail. he goes, and is not the only journalist covering the event. jack biels from the associated press also happens to be there. as they position themselves to be waiting, they hear that he is coming in. mr. jackson refocuses to make sure he gets some sort of image. than he feels someone get right in front of him, passes right by him. he thinks, this person will get in front of my shot and he gets miffed.

he is still ready. all of a sudden he hears the shot. at the same time that he hears the shot, he hits the shutter. and ruby has just hit lee harvey oswald. there is chaos. the police are pushing the press to get everyone out of the area. it's pandemonium. somehow, they all make it out. he runs to the paper, and as he gets there and hands over his film, it has become apparent that other photographs were made that day. and jack's photo is already hitting the wire. he is being asked, do you have any that look like this? he says, i don't know. of course, this is one of the

perfect examples of what makes a pulitzer image. can be in oneters spot, trying to make the image and capture the same scene, but there is only one pulitzer. in this situation, this is it. "moment of reflection" wins the pulitzer in 1977. the photographer, robin hood, worked for the free press. mr. hood was a veteran. he served in the vietnam war. because of that, he was able to feel a connection with these veterans. he could see there was an image to be made. by the spring of 1976, the

vietnam war was over but it was still deeply entrenched in the lives of american people. some people took something from the war, some people lost something because of the war. our photographer, mr. hood, came back to the u.s. with a new trade. he had become photographer. the person we can see here lost something in the war, his legs. so the photographer is sent to cover an armed forces day parade. as he is walking, he notices a group of tiny, vietnamese children witnessing the parade. he takes a couple photographs, they look cute, and are enjoying their freedom. he turns around and notices this veteran. he is obviously in a wheelchair,

wearing his army fatigues, his army poncho because it is raining, and he is holding his two-year-old son. he is visibly moved. there are tears running down his face. he connects with this veteran because they are both veterans, and they have both been there. he is so taken by the emotional impact of the image, he makes the photo. then he does walk over to the subject, he speaks with them and find out why he is crying. it's because, he used to be a football player in high school, and at that time, his high school band was marching by in front of him, and that moved him to tears. "blizzard france new england" wins the pulitzer prize in 1979.

the award is given to the staff of "the boston herald." the photographer is faced with one of the worst storms he has ever had to cover. he's determined to get good images of it. he charters a small plane, in the conditions where all the businesses and schools are closed, there is snow everywhere. he is still determined to cover it. he gets in the plane, and as soon as they start going, he gets tremendously air sick, but he is going to do this thing and cover it. when they get to the point where the pilot says, we cannot stay here anymore, this is not safe. he notices the lighthouse. this lighthouse is 114 feet

tall, which means the water is going up about 100 feet. he looks at the image, makes the image, and immediately after he throws up. but he has done his job, he made a pulitzer prize image and he can go home. this is something at the museum we are very proud to have. this is a tactile experience and is a companion to the photograph we just looked at. here we have, for the visitors who are visually impaired, they are able to touch the image. it has been carved in such a way that you can feel the sea foam, the ocean, and the shape of the lighthouse, so you are able, you can close your eyes and experience the image in a different way.

"oklahoma city bombing" wins the pulitzer prize in 1996. the photographer, charles porter iv, files the image through the associated press. charles porter, iv was an employee in the loans department of the bank. one day, he was at work when everyone there heard a loud explosion. because he was an aspiring photojournalist, he runs to his car, grabs his camera, and runs 2.5 blocks to the alfred p murrow building. as he puts it, it looks like the front of the building has been completely shaved off. you can see inside the building. of course, there is chaos everywhere. there are people running. victims getting out of the building. there of course is not a lot of

press because it literally just happened. mr. porter makes a lot of different photos. he takes a picture of the victims, a picture of the church with the stained-glass exploded on the ground, and then he notices something out of the corner of his eye. he turns around and notices a policeman handing something over to a fireman. he turns around, and we see now that what he is doing is handing over this little baby to the firemen. as the fireman is holding the baby, that unfortunately passed on, he makes the photo. he makes that image that becomes the iconic representation of that terrible disaster that happened that day.

we are very excited to be part of the celebration of the pulitzer centennial. in september of this year, we will have a reveal of our brand-new pulitzer gallery. there will be a lot that will be different. the images, for one, displayed along the walls will be refreshed so we are able to include the winners that have occurred after the gallery was inaugurated several years back. we will be able to have content that is more current and reflect stories that are still burned and very fresh in the consciousness of our visitors. something else that we will have that will be really, really interesting is the winner's wall. that is at the entrance of the gallery.

every year, we display there the winners for each year. we are going to show the winners, but we will also have digital capabilities so we can show not only one image per winner, but also the portfolios. we will also be able to offer interviews with these photographers so we can see their video interview, and all of their images in one spot. so that we are able to share the complete story with our visitors. another part of the gallery that is going to get redone is our movie. we will the able to include more and different interviews of our photographers. our visitors will be able to see new images around the room, and they will also be able to see permanently, the interviews of these photographers as they tell us how they made the images. finally, our kiosks will be revamped as well.

we will have new interviews and different capabilities so that our visitors can navigate the content in a more interactive and intuitive way. we are very excited and hoping to share these new galleries and new lives that the pulitzer gallery will have for us, come september this year. >> you can watch this or other "american artifacts" programs at any time by visiting our website -- c-span.org/history. >> the campaign 2016 bus continues its travels >> our bus recently traveled to sparks, nevada.

our crew then headed to california to meet with winners in that state, including a visit to a middle school in san diego, where a congressman took part in the ceremony. and in l homburg county, judy or theird classmates winning documentary on social security. a special thanks to our cable partners for helping to coordinate the community visits. be sure to watch one of our winning entries every day this month. >> this year marks the 100 and -- anniversary of the pulitzer

prize. next, an event commemorating pulitzer prize winners whose work focused on social justice. lewis delivered the keynote address. >> i'm deputy mayor of st. petersburg, a former journalist, and a proud graduate of the poynter institute. any service to the power of words. i will serve as one of your host for this evening. you can't have a pulitzer prize celebration without some pulitzer prize winners. we are so fortunate tonight to have a distinguished group of winners among us, to honor them, here is ceo of the times and former chair of the pulitzer prize forum. [applause]