Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for the Los Angeles Times and Penn alumnus Charles Ornstein is glad he chose to pursue a career in journalism rather than law.
The 31-year-old was part of a team that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service on Monday for a series of articles he wrote over 15 months with three other journalists on the effects of medical errors. The series focused on patients at the Martin Luther King/Charles R. Drew Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Since the series was published, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has pulled its accreditation from King/Drew Medical Center. Los Angeles County has also created an outside advisory group to improve hospital operations -- an idea that originated in a follow-up article by Ornstein.
As a college student, Ornstein -- a former Daily Pennsylvanian executive editor -- said he never imagined that "he would ever see such an honor."
The Los Angeles Times reporter has received recognition for his stories since the beginning of his undergraduate career at the DP. His article on McGinn Security Service brought attention to guards who fell asleep while on duty in residential houses.
"I really had a chance to see the impact that reporting can have ... the impact to make changes, the impact to inform people about issues that they really need to care about and to understand how one article can change lives," Ornstein said of his experience at the DP. The publicity over the sleeping security guards eventually resulted in the University's replacement of McGinn.
Ornstein has always had a knack for journalism, former roommate and DP colleague Daniel Gingiss said.
"I was extremely proud, and extremely impressed, but not at all surprised because he has ... all his life been the guy that aims for and reaches the top," Gingiss said.
