Reporter hopes to get Pulitzer for coverage of Favre’s cell communications

GREEN BAY, WI — Donald Sundsten, a lifelong reporter for a small newspaper on the outskirts of Green Bay, is hoping that he’ll finally win the ever-elusive Pulitzer Prize.

Sundsten’s hopes are pinned on a series of articles he has written about Brett Favre’s cell phone communications in recent weeks, as Favre and the Green Bay Packers are sniping at one another regarding his potential unretirement and return to the NFL.

“You know, you get into journalism with the highest of ideals and intentions, and then sometimes, what you end up doing is not exactly the greatest work in the world – you know, like covering a chemical spill at the cheese factory, or writing a youth baseball wrap-up,” Sundsten said. “But then, once in a very long while, a story comes along like this one, where you just get a little tip and suddenly realize that you’ve just stumbled onto something that is going to change the world. That’s how I felt when I first heard about Brett’s text messaging.”

The whole series of articles started last week, when Sundsten received news that Favre had sent a text to Green Bay Packers GM Ted Thompson.

“It was pretty amazing when I found out,” Sundsten told SSNN. “My heart just started pounding out of my shirt. I realized right then that this was going to be enormous. Of course, I needed to get some verification – I mean, you can’t just run a story saying someone got a text message without verifying it. That’s Journalism 101, right? Anyway, I got the verification, and I ran with the story, and it turned out pretty amazing, I think.”

Sundsten said the story ran in Tuesday’s paper, and he spent all of Tuesday morning hanging out in a local gas station, watching people read his article and gauging their reaction.

“Well, the article appeared on page 4 of the sports section, so in the three and a half hours I was there, only one person read it,” Sundsten said. “She really seemed to enjoy it, though. I’m not sure if she really got it until I explained to her, you know, how important this was. But then she really seemed to get pretty into it.”

Sundsten said that he’s going to continue carrying on with the stories, providing his readers with the news and information that they want – and, really, need.

“I’ll probably do a book about this when it’s all said and done,” Sundsten said. “How many times in your life do you get to change the world? Two, maybe?”