CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Pulitzer Prize winner and Plain Dealer columnist
resigned today.
"In recent weeks, it has become painfully clear that my independence, professionally and personally, is possible only if I'm no longer writing for the newspaper that covers my husband's senate race on a daily basis. It's time for me to move on," Schultz wrote in an email to her colleagues Monday.
Schultz had written for the newspaper for nearly 18 years. She is married to Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who will seek re-election to the U.S. Senate next year. Conservatives have criticized Schultz and The Plain Dealer, saying that she used her column to support her husband's political career.
Both Schultz and the leadership of the newspaper have maintained that her words are her own, and pointed out that she began writing about workers' rights and other liberal causes long before she married Brown in 2004.
Schultz took a leave of absence in 2006 when Brown first ran for the Senate.
Plain Dealer Editor Debra Adams Simmons said Schultz gave readers a unique perspective.
"One of Connie's great strengths is her ability to connect with all kinds of people. From her Christmas Day profile of astronaut and former U.S. Sen. John Glenn to her columns on tipping policies at local restaurants to her recent look at a couple married 50 years now living with Alzheimer's Disease, Connie is a gifted storyteller," Simmons said.
"Her steadfast commitment to social and economic justice, her advocacy on behalf of women and her courageous efforts to speak truth to power highlight a distinguished career. Although Connie is moving on, hers will continue to be an important voice for the region," Simmons said.
She was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 2005 "for her pungent columns that provided a voice for the underdog and underprivileged." She was a finalist in 2003 in feature writing for her series "The Burden of Innocence," which narrated the ordeal of Michael Green, who was incarcerated for 13 years for a rape he did not commit. The real rapist turned himself in after Schultz' series ran.
At the beginning of this year, Schultz wrote about the long-term effects on humans of Agent Orange, a toxic herbicide the U.S. military sprayed from 1962 to 1971 in the jungles and forests of South Vietnam. She spent more than one year researching and reporting the subject. Last week she won the Associated Press Media Editor's International Perspective award for the piece.
She is the author of two books: "Life Happens: And Other Unavoidable Truths" and ". . . and His Lovely Wife: A Memoir from the Woman Beside the Man," about her thoughts on her husband's 2006 Senate campaign.
"I leave The Plain Dealer with gratitude, and plenty to do," she wrote in her farewell letter to the staff. "I'm working on my next book, and will continue to write essays for Parade magazine. I'm still a columnist with Creators Syndicate, and I'll continue to focus on issues of social and economic justice. I'm weighing other options, and look forward to what comes next."
A changed rotation of The Plain Dealer's columnists will begin today.
Two-time Pulitzer finalist and best-selling author Regina Brett will appear Sundays and Wednesdays.
The Plain Dealer's other two-time Pulitzer finalist, Phillip Morris, is on leave for a Knight-Wallace Fellowship at the University of Michigan. His column will return in the spring. Filling Phillip's rotation during the fellowship will be the newspaper's politics writer, Mark Naymik. He will appear Sundays and Thursdays.
Road Rant by John Horton will appear Tuesdays and Fridays. Tipoff by Mike McIntyre will appear Mondays and Saturdays.
Here is the note Schultz sent to her colleagues explaining her resignation.
Dear friends and colleagues,
Nearly 18 years ago, The Plain Dealer took a chance on me. I was a 36-year-old newly single mother who had spent 15 years writing freelance stories from my kitchen table. My password for Newsmaker remains what it was for my PD computer on December 15, 1993, my first day on the job: Wow.
What a ride.
In recent weeks, it has become painfully clear that my independence, professionally and personally, is possible only if I'm no longer writing for the newspaper that covers my husband's senate race on a daily basis. It's time for me to move on.
Editor Debra Adams Simmons has been incredibly supportive, and an inspiration to me. I am especially grateful for her unconditional commitment to the recent Agent Orange project, "Unfinished Business." Ellen Stein Burbach, my direct editor, has been my champion for more than a decade. Their faith in me was emboldening. Their guidance made me better. They will no longer be my editors, but they remain cherished friends.
I leave The Plain Dealer with gratitude, and plenty to do. I'm working on my next book, and will continue to write essays for Parade magazine. I'm still a columnist with Creators Syndicate, and I'll continue to focus on issues of social and economic justice. I'm weighing other options, and look forward to what comes next.
To my hardworking colleagues: Thank you. I continue to cheer you on.
To those who became my steadfast friends: Thank you doesn't begin to cover it. I'm loyal as a pug.
To everyone at The Plain Dealer: I leave with a sad but hopeful heart. I was so lucky to be your colleague.
Connie