Jacqui Banaszynski

Born Jacqueline Marie Banaszynski in Pulaski, Wisconsin,[1] Banaszynski began working as a journalist in high school and when she was 15, became the associate editor of the school paper, the Pulaski News.[2] Part of the appeal of working on the paper was that the journalism program gave her access to sporting events at the school level.[3] Banaszynski graduated from Pulaski High School in 1970 and earned a degree in journalism from Marquette University in 1974., graduating magna cum laude.[1][2][4][5][3]

Around 1984, Banaszynski started working for the St. Paul Pioneer Press Dispatch.[6] In 1985, she went on assignment to Africa and her story about Sudanese victims of famine, "The Trail of Tears," became a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 1986.[7][8]

Banaszynski wrote a special report called "AIDS in the Heartland" while she was a reporter at the St. Paul Pioneer Press Dispatch.[2] The report was a series of stories that centered around the lives of two gay Minnesota farmers, Both had contracted and died of AIDS .[2] She and photographer Jean Pieri searched for a year for subjects that they felt could "humanize people afflicted by this terrifying new illness."[9] Their choice of following Dick Hanson and his partner, Bert Henningson, at first upset readers of the newspaper, but after the final installment of the 3 part series, most readers seemed to sympathize with both men.[9] The series won a Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing in 1988.[10]

In 1997, Banaszynski began working for The Seattle Times and in 2003, became the Associate Managing Editor for special projects and staff development.[11]

Banaszynski was inducted into the American Society of Sunday and Feature Editors Hall of Fame in 2008.[4] She went on to become the Knight Chair at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.[12]

• Official site
• Oral history interview