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Pulitzer Prize Winner Returns to Where It All Began

by Libby Cudmore

New York Times investigative reporter Mike McIntire ’85 P’13, P’21 knows that the secret to success isn’t your paycheck — it’s your impact.

“In my first job out of college, I was working for a weekly newspaper,” he said. “But the stories I wrote changed people’s minds. They influenced town decisions. People would tell me they read my story, and I realized that my work was making a real difference in this community.”

Now an investigative reporter for the New York Times, the three-time Pulitzer Prize winner returned to Hartwick to deliver the annual Leslie G. Rude Memorial Lecture, “Investigative Journalism and Democracy.”

Mike McIntire ’85 P’13, P’21

“If you look back historically at these pivot points in history, you will see the press having a positive role. By holding power to account and revealing things that people need to know about their elected leaders and our institutions.”

Mike McIntire ’85 P’13, P’21

And it was at Hartwick that he discovered where his passion was. “I liked to write, so I took a news writing class,” he said. “But then I took an international relations course and I realized studying political science is a way to study how we live.”

He switched his major to political science, focusing on constitutional law and international relations, and honing his writing and research abilities. “These classes taught me not just how to write but helped me understand what I was writing about,” he said. “Those classes were really fundamental in me getting an understanding about how government works, how life works — that’s what I ended up covering.”

His first newspaper writing job was for a weekly in Connecticut. “I only made $11,000 a year,” he said. “But it’s how I discovered what I wanted to do.” Covering town council meetings put his political science courses into practice, and from that hometown newspaper, he vaulted into his journalism career. He worked for several newspapers, including The Hartford Courant, where he shared a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting in 1999. He also won Pulitzers in 2017 and 2022 and was a finalist in 2001 and 2015.

“My small-town publisher taught me you can’t assume anything. You have to be 100 percent certain of your facts. That’s the best lesson anyone has ever taught me.”

Mike McIntire ’85 P’13, P’21

He joined The New York Times in 2003 and has covered a wide range of topics, including abusive policing practices, terrorism, Donald Trump’s tax returns and the NRA. He authored Champions Way: Football, Florida, and the Lost Soul of College Sports, and his second book, Lethal Freedoms: The Rise of Gun Culture and the Fracturing of America, is forthcoming.

“Our investigations can take us anywhere,” he said. “We tell the stories people need to know because the highest and best purpose of journalism is to hold power to account.” Though he laments the closing of many local newspapers and the rise of AI taking writing jobs, he still believes in the power of optimism and the role of media in changing lives.

“The news feels so negative, and it can be easy to feel beaten down,” he said. “But I’m a firm believer in the resilience of our institutions, including a free press.”

He offers this career advice to all Hartwick students — including his daughter, Meg ’13, and son, Ryan ’21, who followed him to Oyaron Hill and earned political science degrees: “No matter what line of work you go into, find a way to make a difference. That, more than how much money you make, is where you’ll be happy.”

Mike McIntire ’85 P’13, P’21 offers career advice and shares memories of his Hartwick experience.

Matching Gift Challenge to Benefit Institute of Public Service

Prior to Mike McIntire’s February lecture on campus, President Jim Mullen unveiled a quarter-million-dollar matching gift for the Hartwick Institute of Public Service, generously pledged by Trustee Raymond “Larry” Miller ’73. The gift will total $250,000 over five years.

The funds will provide students with paid internships in local and county government, and help inspire and encourage their peers to vote, get involved in democracy and assist area nonprofits. It will also support programming focused on strengthening democracy and the rule of law.

As one of Hartwick’s most dedicated supporters, Miller has contributed to many campus initiatives. His most recent was a $2 million gift that was recognized with the renaming of the College’s living-learning apartment community in honor of his late wife, Judith Day. The new Judith Day Apartments — collectively nicknamed “The Judy” — were officially revealed at a ribbon cutting ceremony during the Fall 2023 True Blue Weekend.

The Together, We Soar campaign is expected to conclude in fall 2026. To learn more about the campaign and to participate, visit hartwick.edu/togetherwesoar.

Hartwick College Together, We Soar Campaign Logo

May 15, 2024
From The Wick Magazine, Wick Mag Spring 24

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