Julie Cart, born in Louisiana, is an American journalist. She won the 2009

Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting The Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting has been presented since 1998, for a distinguished example of explanatory reporting that illuminates a significant and complex subject, demonstrating mastery of the subject, lucid writing and clear p ...

, with her colleague, Bettina Boxall, for their series of stories looking at the cost and effectiveness of combating wildfires in the western United States. She has worked for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' and several other news organizations. She currently covers environmental issues in the California state capitol as a writer with '' CalMatters'' While attending

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

, she was a track and field athlete. She held the ninth all-time record in the discus throw in 1980, and won the women's championship at the 1976 Intermountain Conference Championships; she also made the U.S. Olympic trials.

Education and background

Cart began showing an interest in writing during her high school years when she was editor of the school newspaper. At the same time, she was writing news briefs as an unpaid student for her local paper. Cart graduated from Arizona State University, with a B.S., in

Journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

, in 1980. She attended on an athletic scholarship and was one of the first women's conference champion's in Arizona State's

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

history, winning the 1976 Intermountain Conference Championships for the discus throw. Cart held the university's 9th all-time discus throw record in 1980, at 52.04 meters. Cart was inducted into the Cronkite School Alumni Hall of Fame in 1988. She's married to an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

journalist, who she met in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, at the Australian Open.

Career

Following her time in high school as a mainly unpaid reporter, Cart took on the role of "copy kid" at ''

The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. History Early years The newspap ...

'', and thereafter joined ''

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

'' (UPI) in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

as a reporter. In 1983, she became a reporter for the Metro Section at the ''

'', later becoming national

correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

. As an award-winning sportswriter, she covered the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

in Italy,

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in ...

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

, boxing in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and apartheid athletes in South Africa. Eventually, she left the sports department to become the bureau chief with the ''Times'' National staff in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. In 2003, Cart joined the environmental staff, reporting on public lands and

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

. Throughout her career at the ''LA Times'', Cart has focused on investigations and special projects. Cart has covered multiple topics in her ''LA Times'' reporting including

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

polygamy Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more tha ...

, the

Columbine High School massacre A school shooting and attempted bombing occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators, twelfth-grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 13 students and one teach ...

, post-911 and the recovery of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

. In 2009, Cart and fellow journalist Bettina Boxall were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting. The prize was for their 15-month investigation, leading up to the series of "Big Burn" stories, exploring the cost and effectiveness of fighting wildfires in the western United States. The series of stories are listed below. * "Big Burn: Out of control?" ''Los Angeles Times'', Bettina Boxall and Julie Cart, July 27, 2008. * "Big Burn: Just for show?" ''Los Angeles Times'', Bettina Boxall and Julie Cart, July 29, 2008. * "A politician gets his way," ''Los Angeles Times'', Julie Cart, July 29, 2008. * "Big Burn: In harms way," ''Los Angeles Times'', Bettina Boxall, July 31, 2008. * "Big Burn: Small trees, large threat," ''Los Angeles Times'', Bettina Boxall, July 31, 2008. * "Big Burn:Beige plague," ''Los Angeles Times'', Bettina Boxall, August 2, 2008. * "Big Burn: On their own," ''Los Angeles Times'', Julie Cart, August 3, 2008. In 2015 Cart joined ''CALmatters'', a journalism organization covering California's state capitol. She covers the environment beat.

Awards

* 1983 Third place for Investigative Reporting, from the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

Sports Editors award * 1984 First place for Best Sports Story and Best News Story from the UPI-California Nevada Association * 1987 The Greater Los Angeles Press Club awarded her first place for the Best Sports Story * 1990 Honorable mention for Enterprise Reporting and two years later fifth place for Enterprise Reporting * 1993 The

Women's Sports Foundation The Women's Sports Foundation (WSF) is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit charity focused on female involvement in sports. Founded in 1974 by tennis player Billie Jean King and initially supported by Olympic athletes Donna de Varona and Suzy Chaffee ...

Award * 1995 Second place for Enterprise Reporting * 2005 Second place, the Kevin Carmody Award for Outstanding Investigative Reporting awarded by the

Society of Environmental Journalists The Society of Environmental Journalists is a non-profit national journalism organization created by and for journalists who report environmental topics in the news media. On its website, the organization says that "SEJ’s mission is to strengt ...

* 2006 Honorable mention from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism in the John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism * 2009 The Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting with colleague Bettina Boxall, ''Los Angeles Times'' * 2010 The Mary Garber Pioneer Award from the Association for Women in Sports Media, and third place for Outstanding Explanatory Reporting for "Writing on the Wall," from the Society of Environmental Journalists. * 2018 Recipient of the SEAL Environmental Journalism Award in recognition of her environmental coverage

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cart, Julie Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication alumni American women journalists Journalists from Louisiana Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism winners Arizona State Sun Devils women's track and field athletes American female discus throwers Track and field athletes from Louisiana