A Day to Celebrate in the Newsroom

· Sue Schmidt, Jeffrey Smith and James Grimaldi won the investigative reporting prize for digging out the Jack Abramoff-Tom DeLay lobbying scandal. Schmidt, the lead reporter, is a "classic investigative reporter," Downie said. "An unstoppable watchdog. She takes on any subject, overcomes all obstacles in her way and braves the brickbats that her aggressive reporting has attracted over the years." Schmidt has been at The Post 23 years and started in Prince George's County. Her grandfather, George Schmidt, was the picture editor of the New York Daily News when its staff won a Pulitzer half a century ago.

Grimaldi, a Missouri native, has been at The Post six years and is a member of the investigative unit; he has covered national security lapses, political fundraising and business. Smith is from Wisconsin, has been at The Post 20 years and started out as a national security correspondent. His baby twins were there to watch.

· Robin Givhan, fashion editor, won for criticism, "for her strong, reliable voice about the meaning of what we . . . choose to wear and how we present ourselves to the world . . . [It] is about people, power, culture, commerce, beauty in the broadest sense, and life itself. . . . The lady has impact," Downie said. Givhan, a Post veteran of 11 years, is a Detroit native who regularly delights and ticks off her readers with trenchant comment on what the powerful are wearing.

The Post had two other finalists. Steve Fainaru, a sports reporter who volunteered for service in Iraq, was a finalist in international reporting for what Downie called "a remarkable on-the-ground portrayal of the pain and existential uncertainty of American soldiers in Iraq."

The Post also was a finalist for the prestigious Gold Medal in Public Service for coverage of how the war on terrorism has affected civil liberties. But no one was unhappy that the prize went to the New Orleans Times-Picayune and the Biloxi Sun-Herald, whose staffs had suffered and risen to the prize by their excellence in serving their battered communities after Hurricane Katrina.

Two records are worth noting. The Post newsroom has won 19 Pulitzers under Downie -- more than any editor in history. The Post also has a record in public service finalists -- six in seven years with two winners.

Monday ended with a party on the roof of the Hay-Adams Hotel, overlooking the White House and downtown Washington. For a day, there were no falling circulation numbers or angry bloggers or disappointed readers. Only celebration. Then back to work.

Deborah Howell can be reached at 202-334-7582 or atombudsman@washpost.com.