b'THE PITTSBURGHREPORT TO THE FOUNDATIONCOMMUNITY cash award for his or her courage and outstanding communication exemplified by Sallys body of work. This is, says Feinstein, consistent with Sallys feelings and beliefs. This enduring appreciation of Sallys determination to expose injustices of the powerful and advocate for the underdog is as much a tribute to her journalistic prowess as it is to Sallys willingness to open a window to the political and personal absurdities in our lives. She accomplished this first in her column that began on occasional Saturdays. Noting Sallys strength of conviction, John Craig, the Post-Gazettes late editor, quickly made her one of the papers regular Sunday columnists. She had that rare ability to raise the consciousness, and ire, of the newspapers readers, recalls Susan Smith, the Post-Gazettes former managing editor who started at the newspaper in 1984, the same year as Sally. The column was a great platform for Sally to address important issues, as well as human interest topics, and she did it all fearlessly, says David Kalson. We dont expect [the award winner] to be the next Sally Kalson, but we expect that person to be the best journalist possible in a reporting situationdemonstrating an ability toLaughing while reading about boisterous KalsonSally Kalson face off against the powerful and those in authority, orfamily holiday dinners and celebrations, I came to beinterviewed to challenge cynicism.more tolerant of my own familys foibles. I cried throughscores of newsmakers As a columnist, Sallys courage was palpable. Every- another column in which she wrote about sitting with herwho were one was accountablefrom elected officials whoback against her fathers tombstonewhich absorbslightning rods wanted a constitutional amendment to protect thethe suns warmth and gives it back again, just as hefor controver-flag from desecration to the intrusion of the facelessdid with his familys love. I cheered when I read howsial ideas. In 1986, she spoke and monolithic World War II memorial that was to beEd turned those killer blue eyes on me in proposingto rock legend constructed on the Washington Mall (the design wasmarriage. And I delighted in the accounts of Zoe maturingFrank Zappa in ultimately changed) to the absurdity of a $15 millionthrough the years into a smart, savvy womannowPittsburgh. Like U.S. Agency for International Development programabout to enter a nurse practitioner graduate programZappa, Kalson was known for to research and teach natural birth control. Sheat Yale University in the fall.challenging motivated readers to invest their emotions in an issue,Sally combined terrific reporting, keen observationthe status quo to think and even to act.and disciplined writing in every piece she touched,and exposing hypocrisy Her writers courage was evident even in the cap- says Smith. She was the heart and soul of an aggressive,especially in tivating columns that focused on her own life. She wasvibrant newsroom. She was a great leader, a greatpolitics. willing to push herself and the people she wrote aboutcolleague. She was Sally. to elicit human truths that were as universal as they were personal. Ellen Mazo is a freelance writer and former Post-Gazette staffer. 15'