1991

EDITORIAL WRITING Ron Casey of Birmingham (Ala.) News
For their editorial campaign analyzing inequities in Alabama's tax system and proposing needed reforms.

Bio from induction:

Ronald B. Casey
(1951 – 2000)

Ron Casey could talk the talk – in person and in print. His words came together in thousands of articles and in thousands of ways, not merely to inform Alabamians but to better Alabama. As a foundry worker’s son, he grew up in Midfield, literally beneath the smoke of nearby steel mills. Some say that is why spotting a smokescreen was second nature to him.

Not everyone liked it when Casey began to see through Alabama’s inequitable tax system; he produced the series “What They Won’t Tell You About Your Taxes,” anyway. The Pulitzer Prize Committee affirmed his courage and made him a recipient of the prestigious award in 1991 and a finalist again in 1994. High praise and recognition for his abilities came often. Various state and national competitions, including the National Headliners Award, proved that Casey’s editorial writing could combine art with fact to yield provocative conversation.

One provocation led to a government adviser’s visit. Casey, it turns out, knew more about the plan in question than the adviser. Things were discussed; motivations questioned; and finally in an attempt to put Casey in his place, the adviser questioned Casey’s southern sensibilities by accusing him of being educated up north. While Casey could have gone anywhere he wanted – such was his talent and intellect – he had chosen to cultivate his education where it would be needed most: home. “Nope, I graduated from The University of Alabama,” Casey replied. Casey was a man who also walked his talk, talk that was unabashedly homegrown.

Wayne Flynt described Casey as “a man in full.” Even as a young man, his sense of complete involvement was apparent. Fresh out of college, he landed in jail, consequences of campaign coverage that involved a sheriff’s wrongdoings.

When Casey demonstrated that the arrest itself was wrongful, he used some of the settlement money to throw a legendary party, but a larger truth had been served: journalists can not, must not, be bullied from the facts, especially in a city and state that was legendary for cowing reporters. Maybe that is why Ron Casey’s most famous saying keeps challenging journalists today: “If you want fine wine, go to France. If you want to write editorials, go to Alabama.”

Despite the courage of his convictions or the deceptive ease he made of difficult work, Casey was not at ease with the resulting praise. After hearing he had won the Pulitzer, his first reaction was directed toward others. “Good, I hope this makes them [the Legislature] change things.” Awards to Casey were only the talk. And though he was considered the best editorial writer in Alabama, he was more concerned with the walk that should follow. Alabama would do well to stay the course.

Casey’s death breathed life into a burgeoning movement for reform in Alabama – a movement that is not done yet. Casey’s life is a lasting testimonial to the enduring relationship between journalism and democracy.