Little Paper, Big Prize

A small newspaper likes nothing better than a national story in its own backyard. Last week at the Point Reyes (Calif.) Light (circ. 2,700), the paper's own backyard was a national story. The Light was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for its investigative articles about the activities of Synanon, the controversial drug-rehabilitation group with headquarters six miles away. Out-of-town journalists quickly descended on the paper's storefront office in Point Reyes Station (pop. 420) to interview the Light's owners, Cathy, 34, and David Mitchell, 35. Armed with Stanford journalism degrees and experience on small papers elsewhere, the Mitchells bought the Light four years ago for "under $50,000." Ironically, their Pulitzer--the gold medal for public service--is given only to newspapers and not to individuals, and so does not carry a $1,000 award. Their paper could have used the cash, but Dave is not complaining: "If I were working on the Washington Post, I wouldn't have got the prize."

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