Like any good investigative story, Daniel Gilbert's Pulitzer Prize-winning series on natural gas royalties started with a tip from a reader more than a year ago.

From that, the two-year veteran of the Bristol (Va.) Herald Courier spent another 13 months, off and on, pursuing the story that resulted in an eight-part series and the paper's winning the Pulitzer's coveted Public Service medal on Monday.

Not bad for a 28-year-old in his first journalism job and a 33,000 circulation daily that had never won a Pulitzer before.

“It is a newspaper's best argument for relevance,” Gilbert said today about the need for such investigative reporting, which is dwindling nationwide. “It is what a newspaper will do in the community that others will not.”

Asked about what it means for a paper of his size to win such an award in competition with the likes of The New York Times and The Washington Post, Gilbert stated: “It can be done. Some of the most important reporting to be done comes from places that don't necessarily have a big newspaper.”

The winning series, which was published in December 2009, included a database so that readers could see if they were owed some of the millions in natural gas royalties that were not being paid.

“I was progressively more astonished as I looked into it,” Gilbert said about how the story grew. “I could see that $25 million in gas royalties were owed to landowners and were sitting in escrow accounts.”

Herald Courier editors, meanwhile, believed the Pulitzer win was big news, choosing to splash it across Page One today as the top news story.

“I am always embarrassed when we put stories out about our coverage,” Gilbert said. “But I'm glad that it gets noticed.”

One down note, the Public Service medal is the only Pulitzer that does not include a cash prize. Gilbert said editors did take him out for drinks last night. It would seem a raise or bonus might be in order as well.

The paper also posted this video report on its win