The
Pulitzer Prize ( ) is a U.S. award for
achievements in
newspaper
journalism,
literature and
musical composition.
It was established by
Hungarian-American publisher Joseph
Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City
.
Prizes are awarded semi-annually in five categories. In twenty of
these, each winner receives a certificate and a
US$10,000 cash award. The winner in the
public service category of the journalism competition is awarded a
gold medal, which always goes to a
newspaper, although an individual may be named in the
citation.
The 2009 Prize winners and finalists were announced April 20.
Entry and prize consideration
The Pulitzer Prize does not automatically evaluate all applicable
works in the media, but only those that have been entered with a
$50 entry fee (one per desired entry category). Entries must also
fit in at least one of the specific prize categories, and cannot
simply gain entrance on the grounds of having general literary or
compositional properties. Works can also only be entered into a
maximum of two prize categories, regardless of their
properties.
History
The prize was established by
Joseph
Pulitzer, a journalist and newspaper publisher, who founded the
St. Louis
Post-Dispatch and bought the
New York World. Pulitzer left money to
Columbia University upon his death in 1911.
A portion of his
bequest was used to found the university's journalism school
in 1912. The first Pulitzer Prizes were
awarded on June 4, 1917, and they are now announced each April.
Recipients are chosen by an independent board.
Famous winners
Famous recipients of the Pulitzer Prize include President
John F. Kennedy for
Biography;
Margaret Mitchell,
Saul Bellow,
Ernest
Hemingway,
Eudora Welty,
Harper Lee,
William
Faulkner, and
Toni Morrison for
Fiction;
Robert Frost for
Poetry;
Roger Ebert for
Criticism; and
Tennessee Williams,
Arthur Miller,
Rodgers and Hammerstein, and
Stephen Sondheim for
Drama.
Upton Sinclair also won the Pulitizer Prize
for his novel
Dragon's
Teeth.
Notable winners of more than one Pulitzer Prize include
David McCullough (twice) for
Biography;
Robert Frost (four times) for Poetry;
Margaret Leech (twice) for
History;
Eugene O'Neill (four times),
Edward Albee (three times), and
August Wilson (twice) for Drama;
Norman Mailer (twice) for Pulitizer Prize for
Fiction and
Pulitizer Prize for
Non-Fiction and
William
Faulkner (twice),
John Updike
(twice), and
Booth Tarkington
(twice) for
Novel /
Fiction. (This category's name was changed in 1948 from Novel to
Fiction.)
Both Eugene O'Neill and Booth Tarkington accomplished the feat of
winning the prize twice in a four-year period.
Thornton Wilder is notable for winning
prizes in more than one category, one in the Novel category and two
in the Drama categories.
Robert Penn
Warren won one for Fiction and one for Poetry.
Categories
Awards are made in categories relating to newspaper journalism,
arts, and letters. Only published reports and photographs by
United
States-based newspapers or daily
news
organizations are eligible for the journalism prize.
Beginning in 2007, "an assortment of
online elements will be permitted in all journalism categories
except for the competition's two photography categories, which will
continue to restrict entries to still images." In December 2008 it
was announced that for the first time content published in
online-only news sources would be considered.
The current Pulitzer Prize category definitions in the
2008 competition, in the order they are
awarded, are:
- Public Service
– for a distinguished example of meritorious public service by a
newspaper through the use of its journalistic resources, which may
include editorials, cartoons, and photographs, as well as
reporting. Often thought of as the grand prize, the Public Service
award is given to the newspaper, not to individuals, though
individuals are often mentioned for their contributions.
- Breaking
News Reporting – for a distinguished example of local reporting
of breaking news.
- Investigative
Reporting – for a distinguished example of investigative
reporting by an individual or team, presented as a single newspaper
article or series.
- Explanatory
Reporting – for a distinguished example of explanatory
newspaper reporting that illuminates a significant and complex
subject, demonstrating mastery of the subject, lucid writing, and
clear presentation.
- Local
Reporting – for a distinguished example of local newspaper
reporting that illuminates significant issues or concerns.
- National
Reporting – for a distinguished example of newspaper reporting
on national affairs.
- International
Reporting – for a distinguished example of newspaper reporting
on international affairs,
including United Nations
correspondence.
- Feature
Writing – for a distinguished example of newspaper feature
writing giving prime consideration to high literary quality and
originality.
- Commentary – for
distinguished commentary.
- Criticism – for
distinguished criticism.
- Editorial
Writing – for distinguished editorial
writing, the test of excellence being clarity of style, moral
purpose, sound reasoning, and power to influence public opinion in
what the writer conceives to be the right direction.
- Editorial
Cartooning – for a distinguished cartoon
or portfolio of cartoons published during the year, characterized
by originality, editorial effectiveness, quality of drawing, and
pictorial effect.
- Breaking News
Photography, previously called Spot News
Photography – for a distinguished example of breaking news
photography in black and white or color, which may consist of a
photograph or photographs, a sequence, or an album.
- Feature
Photography – for a distinguished example of feature
photography in black and white or color, which may consist of a
photograph or photographs, a sequence, or an album.
There are six categories in letters and drama:
- Fiction – for
distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing
with American life.
- Drama – for a
distinguished play by an American playwright, preferably original
in its source and dealing with American life.
- History – for a
distinguished book on the history of the United States.
- Biography or
Autobiography – for a distinguished biography or autobiography
by an American author.
- Poetry – for a
distinguished volume of original verse by an American poet.
- General
Non-Fiction – for a distinguished book of non-fiction by an
American author that is not eligible for consideration in any other
category.
There is one prize given for music:
- Pulitzer Prize for
Music – for a distinguished musical contribution by an American
that had its first performance or recording in the United States
during the year.
There have also been a number of
Special Citations
and Awards.
In addition to the prizes, Pulitzer travelling fellowships are
awarded to four outstanding students of the Graduate School of
Journalism as selected by the faculty.
Board
Pulitzer prizes are decided by the Pulitzer board. As of May 1,
2008, the current board members are:
- Danielle Allen,
Professor, Departments of Classics and Political Science and the
Committee on Social Thought, University of Chicago

- Jim Amoss, Editor, The Times-Picayune, New Orleans,
Louisiana
- Amanda Bennett, Executive
Editor/Enterprise, Bloomberg
News
- Lee Bollinger, President, Columbia University
- Kathleen Carroll, Executive
Editor and Senior Vice President, Associated Press
- Joyce Dehli, Vice President for
News, Lee Enterprises
- Thomas Friedman, Columnist,
The New York Times
- Paul Gigot, Editorial Page Editor,
The Wall Street
Journal
- Sig Gissler,
Administrator, Columbia University Graduate School of
Journalism

- Anders Gyllenhaal, Executive
Editor, The Miami
Herald
- Jay Harris
(co-chair), Wallis Annenberg Chair, Director, Center for the Study
of Journalism and Democracy, Annenberg School for
Communication, University of Southern
California

- David M. Kennedy, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of
History, Stanford
University

- Nicholas
Lemann, Dean, Columbia University Graduate School of
Journalism

- Ann Marie Lipinski, former
Senior Vice President and Editor (2001–2008), Chicago Tribune
- Gregory Moore, Editor,
The Denver Post
- Richard Oppel (co-chair), former
Editor (1995–2008), Austin
American-Statesman
- Paul Tash, Editor, CEO, and Chairman,
St. Petersburg
Times
Terminology: winners, nominees, finalists, and entrants
The Pulitzer Prize Board distinguishes between "entrants" and
"nominated finalists" thus: An "entrant" is simply someone whose
work has been submitted for consideration; according to the Board's
"Plan of Award," any individual may submit an entry. "Nominated
finalists" are those selected by the juries and (since 1980)
announced along with the winner for each category. Only the few
nominated finalists may properly be referred to as Pulitzer Prize
nominees or finalists; others are merely entrants. To have one's
work entered in the awards by a publisher or newspaper cannot make
one a nominee; only the Pulitzer board can do that, by naming the
work among the nominated finalists.
Discontinued awards
Over the years, awards have been discontinued either because they
have been expanded or renamed.
To find, for example, all the winners for investigative reporting,
you have to also look back at the prize for local investigative
specialized reporting, which previously was the prize for local
reporting, no edition time.
Discontinued or merged categories include:
- Pulitzer Prize for
Reporting, 1917–1947.
- Pulitzer Prize for
Correspondence, 1929–1947.
- Pulitzer
Prize for Explanatory Journalism, became the Pulitzer Prize for
Explanatory Reporting.
- Pulitzer
Prize for General News Reporting, 1985–1990, became the
Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting.
- Pulitzer Prize for Local General or Spot News Reporting,
1964–1984, became the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News
Reporting.
- Pulitzer Prize for Local Investigative Specialized Reporting,
1964–1984, became the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative
Reporting.
- Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting, Edition Time, 1953–1963,
became the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting.
- Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting, No Edition Time, 1953–1963,
became the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting.
- Pulitzer Prize for
Photography, was divided in 1968 into Pulitzer Prize for
Feature Photography and a spot news category, which became the
Pulitzer
Prize for Breaking News Photography.
- Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Reporting, 1991–1997, became the
Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting.
- Pulitzer
Prize for Telegraphic Reporting - International, became the
Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting.
- Pulitzer
Prize for Telegraphic Reporting - National, became the Pulitzer
Prize for National Reporting.
- Pulitzer
Prize for Specialized Reporting 1985–1990, became the Pulitzer
Prize for Beat Reporting.
- Pulitzer Prize for
Beat Reporting, 1991–2006; replaced by the reinstituted
Pulitzer Prize for
Local Reporting
- Pulitzer Prize for the
Novel, became the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Brief chronology of renamings, splittings, and
introductions
1917:+ Biography or Autobiography;+ History;+ Editorial Writing;+
Reporting
1918:+ Novel;+ Drama;+ Public Service
1922:+ Poetry;+ Editorial Cartooning
1929:+ Correspondence
1942:+ Photography;+ Telegraphic Reporting—National;+ Telegraphic
Reporting—International
1943:+ Music
1948:– Correspondence;– Novel + Fiction;– Reporting + Local
reporting;– Telegraphic Reporting—National + National Reporting;–
Telegraphic Reporting—International + International Reporting
1953:– Local reporting+ Local Reporting, Edition Time;+ Local
Reporting, No Edition Time
1962:+ General Non-Fiction
1964:– Local Reporting, Edition Time + Local General or Spot News
Reporting;– Local Reporting, No Edition Time + Local Investigative
Specialized Reporting
1968:– Photography;+ Feature Photography;+ Spot News
Photography
1970:+ Commentary;+ Criticism
1979:+ Feature Writing
1985:– Local General or Spot News Reporting + General News
Reporting;– Local Investigative Specialized Reporting;+
Investigative Reporting;+ Specialized Reporting;+ Explanatory
Journalism
1991:– General News Reporting + Spot News Reporting;– Specialized
Reporting + Beat Reporting
1998:– Spot News Reporting + Breaking News Reporting;– Explanatory
Journalism + Explanatory Reporting
2000:– Spot News Photography + Breaking News Photography
2007:– Beat Reporting + Local reporting
Controversies
References
11.
External links