Brett Blackledge

Brett J. Blackledge is a reporter for the Associated Press in Washington, D.C. He previously worked for "The Birmingham News" in Birmingham, Alabama (U.S.), where he started work in 1998. He won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting for a series on nepotism and cronyism in Alabama's two-year college system.

Born in Baton Rouge, La., Blackledge is a 1986 alumnus of Louisiana State University. He began his career in 1986 with the The Associated Press, and later worked for The Journal Newspapers in suburban Washington, D.C., "Education Daily" and "The Mobile Register". [ [http://blog.al.com/twoyear/about.html Two-Year College Corruption - al.com: About the Author ] ]

Blackledge called his Pulitzer-winning series a triumph for general assignment reporters. [ [http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003572217 null ] ] The newspaper originally entered the work and became a finalist for the public service prize and was finally awarded the investigative honor.

He was married in 1999 to Stephanie B. Dowdy, a veterinarian. He has one daughter, Anna.

He left the Birmingham News in 2008 to return to the AP.

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