He joined the '' San Jose Mercury News '' as photo editor in 1978 , and Yarnold eventually became the paper 's editor and senior vice president . During his time there , he was influential in raising awareness about diversity in the journalism professions : he created " Time Out for Diversity and Accuracy " for the Associated Press Managing Editors Association and the Diversity Leadership Institute for the American Society of Newspaper Editors . While assistant managing editor of paper 's afternoon edition , the '' San Jose Mercury News '' won a Pulitzer Prize for general reporting for its coverage of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake . An investigation into local government corruption in 2004 led to his selection as one of three finalists for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize in editorial writing
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
David Yarnold