Journalist Christopher J. Georges joined the Washington bureau of The Wall Street Journal in 1994, where he covered politics, economics and budget issues with distinction. Three of his 1997 stories on the welfare system were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.
One story followed an Iowa mother on her path from welfare to drug dealing to a steady, low-paying job. Another focused on a Binghamton, N.Y., welfare official as she agonized over files to determine which children would lose benefits. A third chronicled four Maryland women who were leaving welfare and their changing attitudes toward money, children and marriage.
Georges’ sense of compassion for the disadvantaged and the impact of public policy on them gave all of his work a special relevance. And whatever the subject he covered, Georges’ passion for the craft of journalism marked all that he did for the Journal and the other publications where he worked during his most promising, but too brief, career.
In a statement, President Clinton called Georges “a reporter’s reporter. Whether he was writing about the budget, Medicare or welfare, Chris’s journalistic integrity, attention to detail and focus on the human side of policy earned him the respect of both his fellow reporters and those who work in the Congress and the White House.”
A 1987 magna cum laude graduate of Harvard, Georges served as executive editor of The Harvard Crimson. After a 1987 internship at The Washington Post, Georges worked in the Dukakis campaign for president. In 1988, he became a clerk at The New York Times, and eventually went on to a job at the Cable News Network. He joined Washington Monthly magazine as editor in 1991, a post he held until he joined The Wall Street Journal.
Georges died on Oct. 20, 1998, from complications related to lupus. He was 33 years old.
Learn more about Chris’s life and work and his dedication to telling stories well.