Some of the best journalism of the year came from the New Orleans Times-Picayune’s reporting during Katrina. Despite the applause they received their courageous coverage is ineligible for journalism’s most coveted prize, a Pulitzer. Why? Because their content never made it to print (their printers were hard to reach at the time).
This is going to change in 2006. The Pulitzer prize can now be awarded to articles published strictly on the web.
I’ve been in the Pulitzer conference room at Columbia where the committee decides who wins the prize. It has the feel of a thousand learned writers. It’s a bit inspiring. While the room reeks of a strong tried and true tradition, this change was overdue.
Somehow I am not surprised by the move coming this year. Between the Times-Picayune’s coverage and the increasing focus of newspapers on Internet content, It had to happen.
One thing I noticed was a bit of a boo-hoo that the Pulitzer won’t be
made available to news organizations that have no print presence like
Slate or blogs. C’mon people, small steps. Besides, I don’t think even
the best blogs are anywhere near deserving Pulitzers. Digital
magazines, like Slate, are closer but I still think they have a ways to
go before they garner the kind of respect needed to battle with the
major papers of the nation.