Carmel native Ken Armstrong, a graduate of Carmel High School and a former editor of the Purdue Exponent, was recently announced as one of this year’s Pulitzer Prize winners for investigative journalism for his work with the Seattle Times.
Armstrong’s colleague, Michael J. Berens, was contacted a few months ago by a Seattle area doctor regarding the state’s use of methadone for Medicaid patients. Washington had been pushing methadone, a narcotic painkiller, as a replacement for other, more expensive pain medications. Armstrong and Berens investigated the situation and wrote a multipart series, “Methadone and the Politics of Pain.”
Armstrong says he got word of winning the prize when in the newsroom at work. A colleague of his checked the Web site and came into the room to inform him (Armstrong) and Berens. Notification is done purely by posting on pulitzer.org. “There’s not even a phone call,” says Armstrong.
We were tipped off to Armstrong receiving this honor by “a very proud mom.”
