Tamar Stieber is an American journalist who won the 1990Pulitzer Prize for Specialized Reporting. Her coverage revealed a correlation between the drugL-tryptophan and a rare blood disorder. As a result of her reporting, theFood and Drug Administration recalled the dietary supplement.
In 1993, Stieber sued theAlbuquerque Journal for unfair treatment andgender discrimination.[1] TheUnited States District Court for the District of New Mexico ruled in favor of theJournal and an appellate court upheld the decision.[2]
Stieber won thePulitzer Prize in 1990 forSpecialized Reporting.[3] A freshman reporter who had only started at the Journal one year prior, she first reported that three doctors in New Mexico had noticed a link between their patients' rare blood disorders and their use of the dietary supplement L-tryptophan.[4] Both doctors and state officials were skeptical and resistant to cooperating with the reporting.[4] After Stieber's articles were published, over 300 cases of the potentially fatal disorder were discovered in 38 states, including the District of Columbia.[5] TheFDA subsequently announced a nationwideclass I recall ofL-tryptophan.[6]
Stieber was the first reporter fromNew Mexico to win aPulitzer Prize.[7]
After winning the Pulitzer, Stieber received nominal promotions from theAlbuquerque Journal but suffered from alleged "discrimination in salary, assignments, and opportunities for advancement."[7] Stieber filed a gender bias complaint with theEqual Employment Opportunity Commission, then sued theAlbuquerque Journal.[7]
The suit alleged that in May 1992, Stieber's pay was still $8,500 less than the average pay of three male investigative reporters, none of whom had won a Pulitzer Prize.[7] The Journal alleged that some of Stieber's stories were erroneously reported and that she was using company resources to sue the newspaper.[8] She resigned from theAlbuquerque Journal in October 1994.[8]
In April 1995, a federal jury ruled in favor of theAlbuquerque Journal.[8] On October 23, 1997, theU.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld the jury's decision.[2]
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