Pulitzer Prizes Expand Eligibility for Three Journalism Categories
Online and Print Magazines Are Now Eligible to Enter International Reporting, Criticism and Editorial Cartooning
Media Contacts:
Mike Pride, [email protected], (212) 854-7327
Sabina Lee, [email protected], (212) 854-5579
NEW YORK, N.Y. (Oct. 27, 2015) — The Pulitzer Prizes have expanded eligibility for three more journalism categories -- International Reporting, Criticism and Editorial Cartooning -- to include many online and print magazines, the Pulitzer Prize Board announced today.
Coupled with last year's opening to Investigative Reporting and Feature Writing categories, the additional expansion allows most magazines to enter five journalism categories for the 2016 prizes.
“The experimental opening to two categories was successful,” said Paul Gigot, chairman of the board. “We had more entries in the two categories, and a finalist in Feature Writing came from The New Yorker. The Pulitzer Prize centennial next year will celebrate a wonderful legacy, but we are also taking necessary steps to move into the future.”
Gigot, who is the editorial page editor and vice president of The Wall Street Journal, said the board chose the three categories after careful consideration. Magazines are doing excellent reporting around the world. For some, cultural criticism has long been a strong suit; others haves published editorial cartoons both online and in print.
While broadening the competition, the board stressed that all entered material should come from U.S. newspapers or news organizations that publish at least weekly, that are ”primarily dedicated to original news reporting and coverage of ongoing stories,” and that “adhere to the highest journalistic principles.” For the five designated categories, this description now includes magazines and their websites.
Consistent with its historical focus on text-based journalism, the Pulitzer Prize Board continues to place emphasis on the enduring value of words and of serious reporting, while also recognizing the opportunity afforded by the internet for integration of text with audio and visual elements to strengthen story-telling and provide information and analysis.
“Magazines are adapting to the digital age and accelerating their publication schedules to report on a timely basis consistent with what newspapers do,” said Mike Pride, administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes. “The board is attuned to this media convergence and is opening our competition in light of it.”
The board adopted the changes at a meeting earlier this month after study by a board committee. The board will continue to monitor the impact of media convergence on journalism.
The Pulitzer Prize entry site for journalism published during 2015 will open in December for submission. Revised rules for the five categories now open to magazines are available in the Plan of Award and individual category explanations on the Pulitzer Prize website at www.pulitzer.org.
The Pulitzer Prizes, which are administered at Columbia University, were established by Joseph Pulitzer, a Hungarian-American journalist and newspaper publisher, who left money to Columbia University upon his death in 1911. A portion of his bequest was used to found the School of Journalism in 1912 and establish the Pulitzer Prizes, which were first awarded in 1917.
The 19-member board is composed mainly of leading journalists or news executives from media outlets across the U.S., as well as five academics or persons in the arts. The dean of Columbia's journalism school and the administrator of the prizes are nonvoting members. The chair rotates annually to the most senior member or members. The board is self-perpetuating in the election of members. Voting members may serve three terms of three years for a total of nine years.