SILICON VALLEY, California (The Adobo Chronicles) – The Daily Breeze, a small newspaper in Torrance, California, with just 63,000 subscribers and seven metro reporters, was a surprise winner at Monday’s Pulitzer Prize ceremony, taking home the local reporting award for its investigation of corruption in a poor school district that brought down an exorbitantly paid superintendent and led to changes in state law.

The award is shared among Rob Kuznia, Rebecca Kimitch and Frank Suraci.

The Pulitzer Prize is an award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature, and musical composition in the United States.

The Pulitzer win is a nice reminder that local newspapers can really make a difference in the world. But it’s also a grim reminder of just how wretched the business of metro journalism truly is, and how unaffordable housing can kill many respectable professions.

Kuznia, whose work on the education beat started the whole effort, left journalism last year in order to actually support himself. He didn’t earn enough money at the newspaper to make ends meet while renting an apartment in Los Angeles. He’s now in public relations.

Shortly after being informed of his Pulitzer, Kuznia said he wants to go back to journalism. That’s when the publisher of The Adobo Chronicles offered him the position of chief correspondent . The Silicon Valley-based online publication has a worldwide following of more than 15 Million. Kuznia readily accepted. “I’ve always wanted to live in the Silicon Valley,” he said.

Both Kuznia and the publisher refused to disclose the negotiated salary and benefits, except to say that the new star reporter will be provided rent-free housing.