The Pulitzer
Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism,
literature and musical composition. It was established in 1917 by provisions in
the will of American (Hungarian-born) publisher Joseph Pulitzer, and is
administered by Columbia University in New York City. Prizes are awarded yearly
in twenty-one 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. The Pulitzer Prize does not
automatically consider all applicable works in the media, but only those that
have specifically entered. (There is a $50 entry fee, paid for each desired
entry category.) Entries must fit in at least one of the specific prize
categories, and cannot simply gain entrance for being literary or musical.
Works can also only be entered in a maximum of two categories, regardless of
their properties.
Each year, 103
judges are selected to "serve on 20 separate juries" for the 21 award
categories (one jury for both photography awards). Most of the juries consist
of five members, except for those of "public service, investigative
reporting, beat reporting, feature writing and commentary categories",
which have seven members. For each award category, a jury makes three
nominations. The board selects the winner by majority vote from the nominations
or bypasses the nominations and selects a different entry with a 75% majority
vote. The board can also vote no award. The board gets no compensation for its
work. The jurors in letters, music, and drama get a $2000 honorarium for the
year, while each chair gets $2500.
Anyone whose work
has been submitted is called an "entrant". The jury selects a small
group of "nominated finalists" and announces them together with the
winner for each category. However, journalists who were only submitted, but not
nominated as finalists still claim to be Pulitzer nominees in their promotional
material.
Newspaper
publisher Joseph Pulitzer gave money in his will to Columbia University to
launch a journalism school and establish the Prize. It allocated $250,000 to
the prize and scholarships. He specified "four awards in journalism, four
in letters and drama, one in education, and four traveling scholarships."
After his death, the first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded June 4, 1917; they are
now announced each April. The Chicago Tribune under the control of Colonel
McCormick felt that the Pulitzer Prize was nothing more than a bribe and
refused to acknowledge or accept the legitimacy of the Pulitzer Prize to any
Chicago Tribune journalist during his tenure up until 1961.
Awards are made
in categories relating to newspaper journalism, arts, and letters and fiction.
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 20-member
board consists mostly of major newspaper editors and executives, along with six
academics including the president of Columbia University and the dean and
administrator of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. The
administrator and the dean cannot vote. The board elects its own members for a
three-year term (excluding the dean and the administrator). Members of the
board and the juries are selected with close attention "given to
professional excellence and affiliation, as well as diversity in terms of
gender, ethnic background, geographical distribution and size of
newspaper." Each year, the chair rotates to the most senior member. The
board makes all prize decisions.
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