For Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ginny Monk, people are the heart of every story.
“For me, journalism is an act of love,” Monk told a crowd of about 300 high school students at the Adanti Student Center on Oct. 23. “For people, for my community, for my country.”
An investigative reporter for the Connecticut Mirror, Monk detailed her journey and her award-winning reporting at the 41st annual High School Journalism Day. Her keynote speech was part of a morning of journalism professional development for Connecticut high school students and their teachers.
Monk was part of a team that won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting for their work highlighting predatory methods in Connecticut’s towing law. Monk and reporter Dave Altimari worked with a team at ProPublica to review more than 13,000 towing documents and interview more than 100 people whose car had been towed.
The series, “On the Hook,” can be viewed at the Connecticut Mirror website.
Noting that the first three sentences of their story relied on 21 separate sources, Monk stressed the importance of using documents in reporting. She also recommended students be open to changing their mind as they report a story, and be willing to constantly rewrite.
Monk said there was immediate reaction to their first article, with lawmakers immediately calling for change.
“It was the fastest and most thorough response I have ever seen to a story, ” she said.
In addition to Monk, SCSU Journalism faculty, the president of Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists and the public information officer for the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission also presented during the event. Cathy Kuhlmeier, the former student editor at the center of the student censorship case Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, presented virtually on her case.
Workshop topics ranged from ethics to video storytelling to brainstorming story ideas.
Photos by Lily Rand and Mateus Gazdzicki.
