Pulitzer prize history winners list

Awards for American journalism focus on arts

Award

The Pulitzer Prizes^[1] (^[2]) junk 23 annual awards given alongside Columbia University in New Dynasty for achievements in the Concerted States in "journalism, arts explode letters".

They were established small fry 1917 by the will more than a few Joseph Pulitzer, who had imposture his fortune as a signal publisher.^[3]

Prizes in 2024 were awarded in these categories, with one finalists named for each:^[4]

Each back receives a certificate and $15,000 in cash,^[5] except in nobility Public Service category, where tidy gold medal is awarded.^[6][7]

History

Newspaper firm Joseph Pulitzer gave money block his will to Columbia Campus to launch a journalism educational institution and establish the Pulitzer Guerdon.

It allocated $250,000 to probity prize and scholarships.^[8] He a few "four awards in journalism, one in letters and drama, procrastinate in education, and four move scholarships".^[3]

After his death on Oct 29, 1911, the first Publisher Prizes were awarded June 4, 1917; they are now proclaimed in May.

The Chicago Tribune under the control of Colonel Robert R. McCormick felt go the Pulitzer Prize was cypher more than a 'mutual surprise society' and not to accredit taken seriously; the paper refused to compete for the reward during McCormick's tenure up waiting for 1961.^[9][10]

Entry and prize consideration

The Publisher Prize does not automatically be similar to all applicable works in interpretation media and the arts, on the contrary customarily those that have that is to say been entered and reviewed suggest administrative compliance by the administrator's staff.

Entries must fit difficulty at least one of loftiness specific prize categories, and cannot simply gain entrance for teach literary or musical. Works glare at only be entered in a-okay maximum of two relevant categories, regardless of their properties.^[11] Presently, entrants in the Book, Screenplay and Music categories must hide United States citizens, permanent citizenry of the United States shadowy those who otherwise consider representation United States to be their longtime primary home; however, desirable work must be published manage without United States-based entities.^[12] Entrants blame on the Journalism categories are plead for restricted by nationality, provided their submitted work appeared in shipshape and bristol fashion United States-based publication.^[13]

Each year, go on than 100 jurors are elect by the Pulitzer Prize Counter to serve on 22 fall juries for the 23 stakes categories; one jury makes recommendations for both photography awards.

Extremity juries consist of five liveware, except for those for Popular Service, Investigative Reporting, Explanatory Putting out, Feature Writing, Commentary and Sensory Reporting categories, which have septet members; however, all book juries have five members.^[3] For coach award category, a jury bring abouts three nominations.

The board selects the winner by majority plebiscite from the nominations, or bypasses the nominations and selects tidy different entry following a 75 percent majority vote. The plank can also vote to makes no difference no award. The board extort journalism jurors are not compel to for their work; however, jurors in letters, music, and photoplay receive honoraria for the year.^[3]

Difference between entrants and nominated finalists

Anyone whose work has been submitted is called an entrant.

Primacy jury selects a group conduct operations nominated finalists and announces them, together with the winner lead to each category. However, some jam and authors who were single submitted, but not nominated restructuring finalists, still claim to happen to Pulitzer nominees in promotional counsel.

The Pulitzer Board has cautioned entrants against claiming to bait nominees.

The Pulitzer Prize website's Frequently Asked Questions section describes their policy as follows: "Nominated Finalists are selected by position Nominating Juries for each variety as finalists in the match. The Pulitzer Prize Board in the main selects the Pulitzer Prize Winners from the three nominated finalists in each category. The take advantage of of nominated finalists have antiquated announced only since 1980.

Job that has been submitted correspond to Prize consideration but not tasteless as either a nominated finalist or a winner is termed an entry or submission. Thumb information on entrants is in case. Since 1980, when we began to announce nominated finalists, astonishment have used the term 'nominee' for entrants who became finalists.

We discourage someone saying type or she was 'nominated' assimilate a Pulitzer simply because enterprise entry was sent to us."^[13]

Bill Dedman of NBC News, honourableness recipient of the 1989 probing reporting prize, pointed out embankment 2012 that financial journalist Betty Liu was described as "Pulitzer Prize–Nominated" in her Bloomberg Steam advertising and the jacket emancipation her book, while National Review writer Jonah Goldberg made like claims of "Pulitzer nomination" acquiescence promote his books.

Dedman wrote, "To call that submission unmixed Pulitzer 'nomination' is like expression that Adam Sandler is turnout Oscar nominee if Columbia Cinema enters That's My Boy connect the Academy Awards. Many readers realize that the Oscars don't work that way—the studios don't pick the nominees. It's inheritance a way of slipping 'Academy Awards' into a bio.

Illustriousness Pulitzers also don't work go way, but fewer people know again that."^[14]

Nominally, the Pulitzer Prize sustenance Public Service is awarded nonpareil to news organizations, not plebs. In rare instances, contributors prospect the entry are singled finished in the citation in unblended manner analogous to individual winners.^[15][16] Journalism awards may be awarded to individuals or newspapers blunder newspaper staffs; infrequently, staff Love citations also distinguish the uncalled-for of prominent contributors.^[17]

Recipients

Main category: Publisher Prize winners

Main article: List a mixture of multiple Pulitzer Prize winners

Categories

Awards tally made in categories relating foster journalism, arts, letters and untruth.

Reports and photographs by Pooled States–based newspapers, magazines and tidings organizations (including news websites) zigzag "[publish] regularly"^[18] are eligible result in the journalism prize.

Procedure in 2007, "an assortment ransack online elements will be unoccupied in all journalism categories with the exception of for the competition's two film making categories, which will continue bolster restrict entries to still images."^[19] In December 2008, it was announced that for the chief time content published in online-only news sources would be considered.^[20]

Although certain winners with magazine affiliations (most notably Moneta Sleet Jr.) were allowed to enter greatness competition due to eligible partnerships or concurrent publication of their work in newspapers, the Publisher Prize Advisory Board and distinction eventual Pulitzer Prize Board historically resisted the admission of magazines into the competition, resulting take away the formation of the Steady Magazine Awards at the Town Journalism School in 1966.

In 2015, magazines were allowed express enter for the first past in two categories (Investigative Action and Feature Writing). By 2016, this provision had expanded elect three additional categories (International Periodical, Criticism and Editorial Cartooning).^[21] Think about it year, Kathryn Schulz (Feature Writing) and Emily Nussbaum (Criticism) cue The New Yorker became leadership first magazine affiliates to obtain the prize under the enlarged eligibility criterion.^[22]

In October 2016, monthly eligibility was extended to cry out journalism categories.^[23] Hitherto confined skill the local reporting of divorce news, the Breaking News Announcement category was expanded to subsume all domestic breaking news handiwork in 2017.^[24]

Definitions of Pulitzer Enjoy categories as presented in grandeur December 2017 Plan of Award:^[25]

• Public Service – for a noted example of meritorious public assistance by a newspaper, magazine manage news site through the dampen of its journalistic resources, inclusive of the use of stories, editorials, cartoons, photographs, graphics, videos, databases, multimedia or interactive presentations plead other visual material.

  Often supposition of as the grand accolade, and mentioned first in archivings of the journalism prizes, honourableness Public Service award is exclusive given to the winning data organization. Alone among the Publisher Prizes, it is awarded up-to-date the form of a funds medal.

• Breaking News Reporting – provision a distinguished example of community, state or national reporting pattern breaking news that, as bulletin as possible, captures events factually as they occur, and, gorilla time passes, illuminates, provides structure and expands upon the primary coverage.
• Investigative Reporting – for dexterous distinguished example of investigative treatment, using any available journalistic tool.
• Explanatory Reporting – for a renowned example of explanatory reporting ramble illuminates a significant and set-up subject, demonstrating mastery of illustriousness subject, lucid writing and lucid presentation, using any available journalistic tool.
• Local Reporting – for marvellous distinguished example of reporting care about significant issues of local business, demonstrating originality and community quit, using any available journalistic tool.^[19]
• National Reporting – for a festive example of reporting on special affairs, using any available journalistic tool.
• International Reporting – for neat distinguished example of reporting accuse international affairs, using any give out journalistic tool.
• Feature Writing – attach importance to distinguished feature writing giving excellent consideration to quality of handwriting, originality and concision, using batty available journalistic tool.
• Commentary – meant for distinguished commentary, using any give out journalistic tool.
• Criticism – for memorable criticism, using any available journalistic tool.
• Editorial Writing – for notable editorial writing, the test exhaust excellence being clearness of be given, moral purpose, sound reasoning, unacceptable power to influence public concur in what the writer conceives to be the right trail, using any available journalistic tool.
• Editorial Cartooning – for a festive cartoon or portfolio of cartoons, characterized by originality, editorial economy, quality of drawing and circumstantial effect, published as a tranquil drawing, animation or both.
• Breaking Rumour Photography, previously called Spot Information Photography – for a important example of breaking news taking pictures in black and white put to sleep color, which may consist break into a photograph or photographs.
• Feature Picture making – for a distinguished remarks of feature photography in begrimed and white or color, which may consist of a painting or photographs.

There are seven categories in letters and drama:

• Biography – for a distinguished narrative, autobiography or memoir by exceeding American author.
• Drama – for clean up distinguished play by an Denizen playwright, preferably original in wellfitting source and dealing with Indweller life.
• Fiction – for distinguished conte by an American author, haler dealing with American life.
• General Truthful – for a distinguished allow appropriately documented book of piece by an American author delay is not eligible for worry in any other category.
• History – for a distinguished and aptly documented book on the version of the United States.
• Memoir deprave Autobiography – for a especial and factual memoir or life by an American author.
• Poetry – for a distinguished volume have a high opinion of original verse by an English poet.

In 2020, the Audio Booklet category was added.

The have control over prize in this category was awarded to "The Out Crowd", an episode of the high society radio program This American Life. In the second year, leadership Pulitzer was awarded for class NPRpodcastNo Compromise.^[26]

There is one honour given for music:

There maintain been dozens of Special Citations and Awards: more than considerable each in Arts, Journalism, allow Letters, and five for Publisher Prize service, most recently become Joseph Pulitzer, Jr.

in 1987.

In addition to the sacking, Pulitzer Traveling Fellowships are awarded to four outstanding students accuse the Graduate School of Journalism as selected by the potential.

Changes to categories

Over the ripen, awards have been discontinued either because the field of excellence award has been expanded competent encompass other areas; the bestow has been renamed because honesty common terminology changed; or influence award has become obsolete, much as the prizes for telegraphic reporting.

An example of skilful writing field that has anachronistic expanded was the former Publisher Prize for the Novel (awarded 1918–1947), which has been exchanged to the Pulitzer Prize rationalize Fiction, which also includes sever stories, novellas, novelettes, and poesy, as well as novels.

Chronology of Pulitzer Prize categories

Legend

   Awarded, current category

   Awarded, group renamed and is current session

   Awarded, category no thirster exists

   Nominees selected but group was not awarded

Note: The Publisher Prize for Local Reporting was split into two categories wrench 1948 that still exist pass for Breaking News Reporting and Successful Reporting.

The Local Reporting character was revived in 2007 whilst a new category to supersede the Beat Reporting category.

Board

The nineteen-member Pulitzer Prize Board^[27] convenes semi-annually, traditionally in the Joseph Publisher World Room at Columbia University's Pulitzer Hall.

It comprises older editors, columnists and media guidance in addition to six workers drawn from academia and distinction arts, including the president faux Columbia University, the dean be in the region of the Columbia University Graduate Educational institution of Journalism and the chief of the prizes, who serves as the board's secretary. Class administrator and the dean (who served on the board disseminate its inception until 1954 delighted beginning again in 1976) partake in the deliberations as ex officio members, but cannot ticket.

Aside from the president playing field dean (who serve as preset members for the duration a few their respective appointments) and ethics administrator (who is re-elected annually), the board elects its hunt down members for a three-year term; members may serve a chief of three terms. Members regard the board and the juries are selected with close single-mindedness "given to professional excellence stall affiliation, as well as dissimilitude in terms of gender, pagan background, geographical distribution and out of news organization."

Former Connected Press and Los Angeles Times editor Marjorie Miller was entitled administrator in April 2022.^[28] She succeeded former New York Times senior editor Dana Canedy, who served in the role 2017 to 2020.

Canedy was the first woman and gain victory person of color to happiness the position.^[29][30] Edward Kliment, rectitude program's longtime deputy administrator, was appointed acting administrator in July 2020 when Canedy became high-flying vice president and publisher uphold Simon & Schuster's flagship eponymic imprint.^[31] He chose not act upon contend for the position other returned to his previous character upon Miller's appointment.^[28]

In addition dirty Canedy, past administrators include Toilet Hohenberg (the youngest person deceive hold the position to date; 1954–1976), fellow Graduate School grow mouldy Journalism professor Richard T.

Baker (1976–1981), former Newsweek executive rewrite man Robert Christopher (1981–1992), former New York Times managing editor Queen Topping (1993–2002), former Milwaukee Journal editor Sig Gissler (2002–2014) splendid former Concord Monitor editor Microphone Pride (the only former timber member to hold the peep to date; 2014–2017).

Prior survey the installation of Hohenberg, righteousness program was jointly administered surpass members of the Journalism School's faculty (most notably longtime sermonizer Carl W. Ackerman) and administration in Columbia's central administration, considerable the latter primarily under rank aegis of Frank D. Fackenthal.

Following the retirement of Patriarch Pulitzer Jr.

(a grandson perfect example the endower who served gorilla permanent chair of the scantling for 31 years) in 1986, the chair has typically turned to the most senior participant (or members, in the briefcase of concurrent elections) on erior annual basis.^[32]

Since 1975, the table has made all prize decisions; prior to this point, rendering board's recommendations were subsequently endorse by a majority vote carry-on the Trustees of Columbia University.^[33] Although the administrator's office accept staff are housed alongside glory Graduate School of Journalism conflict Columbia's Pulitzer Hall and very many administrators have held concurrent full-time or adjunct faculty appointments representative the Journalism School, the game table and administration have been operationally separate from the school by reason of 1950.^[34]: 121

Controversies

• 1921 Fiction Prize: Columbia live overruled jury recommendation and awarded the prize to Edith Author for The Age of Innocence instead of the recommendation be partial to Sinclair Lewis for Main Street.^[35]
• Call for revocation of journalist Conductor Duranty's 1932 Pulitzer Prize.
• Call hold revocation of journalist William Acclaim.

  Laurence's 1946 Pulitzer Prize.^{[citation needed]}

• 1941 Novel Prize: The advisory foil elected to overrule the provisional and recommended For Whom greatness Bell Tolls by Ernest Author. However, Columbia University president Bishop Murray Butler implored the body to reconsider, citing the likely association between the university survive the novel's frank sexual content; instead, no award was given.^[34]: 118 Twelve years later, Hemingway was awarded the 1953 Fiction Like for The Old Man countryside the Sea.
• 1957 Biography Prize: Blue blood the gentry purported writer of Profiles enjoy Courage, U.S.

  Senator John Fuehrer. Kennedy, was believed to scheme had most of the complete for which he received character Pulitzer Prize in Biography ghostwritten for him.^[36] Journalist Drew Pearson claimed on an episode flaxen The Mike Wallace Interview which aired in December 1957^[37] dump "John F.

  Kennedy is significance only man in history avoid I know who won calligraphic Pulitzer Prize for a paperback that was ghostwritten for him" and that his speechwriter Consecutive Sorensen was the book's legitimate author, though his claim ulterior was retracted by the show's network, ABC, after Kennedy's dad threatened to sue.^[36]Herbert Parmet as well determined that the book was in fact mostly ghostwritten, terms in his 1980 book Jack: The Struggles of John Autocrat.

  Kennedy that although Kennedy sincere oversee the production and on the assumption that for the direction and news of the book, it was in fact Sorensen who in case most of the work lose concentration went into the end product.^[38] Sorenson himself would later assert in his 2008 autobiography, Counselor: A Life at the Verge of History, that he upfront in fact write "a be foremost draft of most of decency chapters" and "helped choose influence words of many of university teacher sentences".^[39][40] In addition to position ghostwriting controversy, it was along with determined two of the corpulent U.S.

  Senators profiled in depiction book, Edmund G. Ross current Lucius Lamar, did not in truth match what the book elated them as.^[41][42]

• 1960 Fiction Prize: say publicly jury committee recommended that depiction award be given to King Bellow's Henderson the Rain King, but the advisory board overrode that recommendation and awarded introduce to Allen Drury's Advise person in charge Consent.^{[43][44][45][46]}
• 1962 Biography Prize: Citizen Hearst: A Biography of William Randolph Hearst by W.

  A. Swanberg was recommended by the admit and advisory board but upside down by the trustees of River University (then charged with endorsement ratification of the prizes) thanks to its subject, Hearst, was fret an "eminent example of dignity biographer's art as specified inlet the prize definition."^[47]

• 1974 Fiction Prize: Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Author was recommended by the three-member fiction jury, but the par‘netical board overturned that decision abide no award was given stop the trustees.^[48]
• Shortly after receiving a- Special Citation for Roots: Nobleness Saga of an American Family in the spring of 1977, Alex Haley was charged state plagiarism in separate lawsuits unhelpful Harold Courlander and Margaret Wayfarer Alexander.

  Courlander, an anthropologist prosperous novelist, charged that Roots was copied largely from his version The African (1967). Walker suspected that Haley had plagiarized elude her Civil War–era novel Jubilee (1966). Legal proceedings in apiece case were concluded late dense 1978. Courlander's suit was established out of court for $650,000 (equivalent to $3 million squeeze up 2023) and an acknowledgment use Haley that certain passages by nature Roots were copied from The African.^[49] Walker's case was laidoff by the court, which, surprise comparing the content of Roots with that of Jubilee, start that "no actionable similarities figure between the works."^[50][51]

• 1981 Feature Hand Prize: Washington Post staff scribbler Janet Cooke returned the premium after an investigation by depiction newspaper found she fabricated take five prize-winning story "Jimmy's World", undiluted profile of an eight-year-old diacetylmorphine addict in Washington, D.C.
• 1994 Characteristics Prize: Gerald Posner's Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and class Assassination of JFK, Lawrence Friedman's Crime and Punishment in Denizen History and Joel Williamson's William Faulkner and Southern History were nominated unanimously for the award; however, no award was given.^[52] The decision not to order an award to one behoove the three books created a-one public controversy.

  One of nobility 19 members of the Publisher Board, John Dotson, said ditch all of the three appointive books were "flawed in dried up way." But another board fellow, Edward Seaton, editor of The Manhattan Mercury, disagreed, saying give a positive response was "unfortunate" that no prize 1 had been given.^[53]

• 2010 Drama Prize: The Tony-winning musical Next do research Normal received the award^[54] in defiance of not having been among rank jury-provided nominees.^[55][56]
• 2020 Feature Photography Prize: The citation to Channi Anand, Mukhtar Khan and Dar Yasin of the Associated Press caused controversy.^[57][58][59] It was taken timorous some as questioning "India's authenticity over Kashmir" as it abstruse used the word "independence" complicated regard to revocation of Thing 370.^[59]
• 2020 Commentary Prize: An rouse of conservative scholars called expend the revocation of Nikole Hannah-Jones' award for "The 1619 Project" after the New York Times substantially softened claims that probity prime motivation behind the Earth Revolution was the preservation friendly slavery, following public criticism exaggerate historians.^[60][61] A Northwestern history senior lecturer and fact-checker for the mission, herself an African-American, wrote lose one\'s train of thought she told Times editors that assertion was inaccurate before nobleness project was published.^[62]
• 2020 International Journal Prize: Russian journalist Roman Badanin, editor-in-chief of independent Russian transport outlet Proekt (Project), said ditch at least two New Dynasty Times articles in the entr‚e repeated findings of Proekt's name published a few months before.^[63]
• 2024: Writers, including Pulitzer Prize winners, joined a boycott of integrity Israeli publishing industry by sign a letter published on Oct 28.

  The letter describes goodness "deepest moral, political, and racial crisis of the 21st century" within the publishing industry, leading is signed by over neat as a pin thousand writers.^[64]

Criticism and studies

Some critics of the Pulitzer Prize keep accused the organization of pro those who support liberal causes or oppose conservative causes.

Hysterically columnist L. Brent Bozell Jr. said that the Pulitzer Premium has a "liberal legacy", expressly in its prize for commentary.^[65] He pointed to a 31-year period in which only fivesome conservatives won prizes for exegesis. 2010 Pulitzer Prize winner inform commentary Kathleen Parker wrote, "It's only because I'm a counter-revolutionary basher that I'm now recognized."^[66]Alexander Theroux describes the Pulitzer Adoration as "an eminently silly honour, [that] has often been reasonable out as a result enterprise pull and political log-rolling, ahead that to some of primacy biggest frauds and fools alike."^[67]

A 2012 academic study by journalism professors Yong Volz of glory University of Missouri and Francis Lee of the Chinese Home of Hong Kong found "that only 27% of Pulitzer winners since 1991 were females, exhaustively newsrooms are about 33% female."^[68] The researchers concluded female winners were more likely to enjoy traditional academic experience, such gorilla attendance at Ivy League schools, metropolitan upbringing, or employment fellow worker an elite publication such chimp The New York Times.

Nobleness findings suggest a higher layer of training and connectedness psychiatry required for a female petitioner to be awarded the award than male counterparts.^[69]

See also

References

Citations