John McConnico

1999 Pulitzer Prize in spot news photography

John McConnico, a B.J. '87 and M.A.'94 graduate of the Department of Journalism, was named April 12 as a winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

He served on a team of six Associated Press photographers (including Jean-Marc Bouju, former UT student and previous winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography in 1995) who covered the U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.

McConnico brings to 19 the number of Pulitzer prizes won by former UT students associated with the Department of Journalism. Eleven have been won by photojournalism students.

J.B. Colson, photojournalism professor, said McConnico was an outstanding student at UT. Colson served as adviser for McConnico's master's thesis, "Views of Participants in an Innovative Texas Prison System Drug and Alcohol Treatement center: The New Vision Program." Professor Gene Burd also served as a reader on McConnico's thesis.

Dennis Darling, head of the photojournalism program, said of McConnico, "It takes a special kind of person to live that kind of life. It is like a photo junkie - they like to live in the thick of things. Their everyday life is lived under condtions that are far from comfortable."

Gallery of 1999 Spot News Photography winners..