SUMMARY: In historically religious Ireland, the voting booths are in churches. But this is not the same country once dominated by Catholicism. A new constitutional amendment up for vote on Friday would allow Parliament to legalize unrestricted abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. And according to initial exit polls, it has succeeded. Nick Schifrin reports.
GWEN IFILL (NewsHour): Today’s Pulitzer award to The Washington Post and The Guardian renewed debate over journalism’s role and responsibility in reporting on domestic surveillance and national security. The coverage was based on a trove of documents leaked by national security contractor Edward Snowden, who now lives in Russia to escape prosecution.
U.S. officials say Snowden’s revelations did real damage, while his defenders say he performed a public service.
Geneva Overholser joins me now. She’s an independent journalist in New York and a senior fellow at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Center on Communication, Leadership and Policy. She also served on the Pulitzer Prize Board for nine years, part of that as its chairman.
Geneva, is the Pulitzer board basically settling the argument today by saying that they’re going to award this coverage?
GENEVA OVERHOLSER, Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy, USC: Well, I would say, Gwen, that the argument will not be over, at least in terms of many people’s continued discomfort with this reporting.
But I do believe this is an extremely powerful affirmation of this important work.
