Paul Watson’s Pulitzer

As the Star’s editor, John Honderich pushed reporters to be fearless and never shy away from the biggest stories. In April 1994, Star Africa correspondent Paul Watson won America’s prestigious Pulitzer Prize, a first for a Canadian. Watson won in the category of spot news photography for a picture he took months before of a dead U.S. soldier dragged by a mob in Mogadishu, Somalia, after a helicopter was shot down. The shocking photo went around the world and according to the administrator of the Pulitzer Prize, had “a tremendous impact” on Americans’ view on the U.S. role in Somalia.