Best daily newspaper or wire service reporting from abroad
AWARD DATE: 1991
AWARD NAME: The Hal Boyle Award 1991
AWARD RECIPIENT: Peter Gumbel
AWARD RECIPIENT AFFILIATION: The Wall Street Journal
AWARD HONORED WORK: “The Vodka Putsch”
Detailing the dramatic and sometimes hilarious story of the attempted coup that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union, Gumbel skillfully portrayed the hesitation and incompetence of the
coup participants and how their bumbling changed the course of Soviet history. Gumbel’s work also included strong reporting on Mikhail Gorbachev’s ill fated effort to keep the union together in the months before the rebellion and on the subsequent disintegration of the superpower nation.
Citation(s) for Excellence:
Associated Press
“Bangladesh”
Fen Montaigne
Philadelphia Inquirer
“End of an Empire”