History of the Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism 1917-2000: A Chronological Background Analysis Based on Unpublished Materials (Pulitzer Prize Panorama) 3643914954, 9783643914958

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Heinz-Dietrich Fischer

History of the Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism 1917 – 2000 A Chronological Background Analysis based on unpublished Materials

Pulitzer Prize Panorama No. 30

LIT

Heinz-Dietrich Fischer

History of the Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism 1917 – 2000

Pulitzer Prize Panorama edited by

Prof. Dr. Heinz-Dietrich Fischer (Bochum)

Volume 30

LIT

Heinz-Dietrich Fischer

History of the Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism 1917 – 2000 A Chronological Background Analysis based on unpublished Materials

LIT

Gefördert durch Mittel der

, Essen

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. ISBN 978-3-643-91495-8 (pb) ISBN 978-3-643-96495-3 (PDF) A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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I

FOREWORD To speak of „Pulitzer Prizes“ means to speak of a highly differentiated system of awards for outstanding works in various media areas. Since their creation more than one-hundered years ago, the bestowal of the prizes has without doubt become a public institution in America. Along with the Nobel Prizes for Literature, which are given annually in Stockholm, and along with the Academy Awards („Oscars“), which are awarded in Los Angeles-Hollywood, the Pulitzer Prizes belong to the most prestigious honors worldwide. They are given for first class journalistic, literary and artistic achievements on the basis of a strict system of selections and assessment criteria. This book takes a close inside-look at the complex structure of the Pulitzer Prize in journalism and its various categories of awards. The development of each category is described chronologically. Each description begins with the year the category was established. An excellent source of information could be used for an exact reconstruction of the decisive debates of the individual juries: Due to the friendly help of the Pulitzer Prize Board I enjoyed the privilege of being able to study all existing approximately 900 unpublished jury reports with a total of about 2000 pages. This book, therefore, is a general work on all Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism from 1917 through 2000 which is based exclusively on authentic sources. The focus is placed on the precise description of those discussions which led to the selection of the prize winners. Secondary sources were only used in a small number of passages where they are necessary to point out complex facts. Because of the large amount of material consulted, it was not possible to aim at stylistic elegance. Rather, the plain analyses of decision-making processes and their results was my main focus. This volume could not have been written without the groundbreaking Pulitzer Prize-related publications by John Hohenberg, who, from his position as administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, New York, had access to any kind of primary sources. Somehow, I feel myself in the tradition of his undertakings. I am thankful that the present administrator of the annual awards, Edward M. Kliment, made it possible that I got unrestricted use of the written confidential reports of the Pulitzer Prize juries! Ruhr University of Bochum, Germany, January 27, 2022

H.-D. Fischer

II

In Memory of

Professor John Hohenberg (1906 - 2000)

He studied at the University of Washington in Seattle, Columbia University of New York and the University of Vienna, Austria. During his journalism career from the 1920s to 1950s, he primarily worked at the ‘New York Evening Post’ and the’New York Journal-American’. After gaining prominence as a foreign correspondent and early United Nations reporter, he began teaching at Columbia University in 1948, ultimately serving as a professor at the institution’s Graduate School of Journalism from 1950 to 1974. From 1954 onward, he served concurrently as the first administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes. In this capacity, John Hohenberg published several books about the awards system, the most important one entitled ‘The Pulitzer Prizes - A History of the Awards in Books, Drama, Music and Journalism’, published in 1974.

III

IV

Sample of a Journalism Jury Report

„THE DICTATOR FROM BAGHDAD“ by Stephen P. Breen Asbury Park Press, November 17, 1997

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Unpublished Primary Sources Advisory Board Records, May 24, 1921 Advisory Board Records, May 7, 1945 Advisory Board Records, April 25, 1947 Advisory Board Records, April 23, 1948 Advisory Board Records, April 27, 1951 Advisory Board Records, April 25, 1952 Advisory Board Records, April 24, 1953 Advisory Board Records, April 25, 1958 Advisory Board Records, April 9, 1976 Beat Reporting Jury Reports, 1991-2000 Breaking News Photography Jury Report, 2000 Breaking News Reporting Jury Reports, 1998-2000 Commentary Writing Jury Reports, 1970-2000 Correspondence Jury Reports, 1929-1947 Criticism Writing Jury Reports, 1970-2000 Editorial Cartooning Jury Reports, 1922-2000 Editorial Writing Jury Reports, 1917-2000 Explanatory Journalism Jury Reports, 1985-2000 Feature Photography Jury Reports, 1968-2000 Feature Writing Jury Reports, 1979-2000 General News Reporting Jury Reports, 1985-1990 International Reporting Jury Reports, 1948-2000 Investigative Reporting Jury Reports, 1985-2000 Local General Spot News Reporting Jury Reports, 1964-1984 Local Investigative Specialized Reporting Jury Reports, 1964-1984 Local Reporting Jury Reports, 1948-1952 Local Reporting, Edition Time Jury Reports, 1953-1963 Local Reporting, No Edition Time Jury Reports, 1953-1963 Meritorious Public Service Jury Reports, 1917-2000 National Reporting Jury Reports, 1948-2000 Newspaper History Award Jury Reports, 1917-1920 Photography Jury Reports, 1942-1967 Reporting Jury Reports, 1917-1947 Specialized Reporting Jury Reports, 1985-1990 Spot News Photography Jury Reports, 1968-1999 Spot News Reporting Jury Reports, 1991-1997 Telegraphic Reporting (International) Jury Reports, 1942-1947 Telegraphic Reporting (National) Jury Reports, 1942-1947

254 Published Materials Baker, Richard T., A History of the Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University, New York 1954. Barrett, James W., Joseph Pulitzer and his World, New York 1941. Bates, J. Douglas, The Pulitzer Prize. The Inside Story of America’s Most Prestigious Award, New York 1991. Brennan, Elizabeth A./Clarage, Elizabeth C., Who’s Who of Pulitzer Prize Winners, Phoenix, Az., 1999. Brian, Denis, Joseph Pulitzer - A Life, New York 2001. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes 1917-1991, New York 1991. Fischer, Heinz D., Outstanding International Press Reporting - Pulitzer Prize winning Articles in Foreign Correspondence, 5 Vols., Munich 1984-2000. Fischer, Heinz D./Fischer, Erika J., The Pulitzer Prize Archive - A History and Anthology of Award-winning Materials in Journalism, Letters and Arts, 23 Vols., Munich 1987-2009. Hathway, Alan, National Reporting Awards, in: Columbia Library Columns (New York), Vol. VI/No. 3, May, 1957, pp. 18-l9. Herbert, John R., International Reporting Awards, in: Columbia Library Columns (New York), Vol. VI/No. 3, May 1957, pp. 20-23. Hohenberg, John, Foreign Correspondence, New York - London 1964. - The Pulitzer Diaries. Inside America’s Greatest Prize, Syracuse, N.Y., 1997. - The Pulitzer Prize Story. News Stories, Editorials, Cartoons and Pictures, New York - London 1959. - The Pulitzer Prize Story II. Award-Winning News Stories, Columns, Editorials, Cartoons, and News Pictures, 1959-1980, New York 1980. - The Pulitzer Prizes. A History of the Awards in Books, Drama, Music, and Journalism. Based on the Private Files over Six Decades, New York - London 1974. Ireland, Alleyne, An Adventure With a Genius - Recollections of Joseph Pulitzer, New York 1914. - Joseph Pulitzer. Reminiscences of a Secretary, New York 1914. Juergens, George, Joseph Pulitzer and the New York World, Princeton, N.J., 1966. Klyman, Julius H., Photography Awards, in: Columbia Library Columns (New York), Vol. VI/ No. 3, May 1957, pp. 28-30. Laub, Gerhard J., Joseph Pulitzer - Schöpfer der modernen amerikanischen Tagespresse, unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Vienna, Austria, 1960. Leekley, Sheryle/Leekley, John, Moments - The Pulitzer Prize Photographs, New York 1982. Lewinson, Minna/Hough, Henry B., A history of Services rendered to the public by the American press during the year 1917, New York 1918. O‘Dell, De Forest, The History of Journalism Education in the United States, New York 1935. Rothmyer, Karen, Winning Pulitzers. The Stories Behind Some of the Best News Coverage of Our Time, New York 1991.

255 Saalberg, Harvey, The Westliche Post of St. Louis: A Daily Newspaper for German-Americans, 1857-1938, unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo., 1967. Seitz, Don C., Joseph Pulitzer. His Life and Letters, New York 1924. Siebert, Horst, Pulitzer als Journalist und Verleger, unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Munich, Germany, 1956. Sloan, W. David, Pulitzer Prize Editorials, Ames, Ia., 1980. - The Best of Pulitzer Prize News Writing, Columbus, Oh., 1986. Swanberg, W. A., Pulitzer, New York 1967.

The iconic Pulitzer Gold Medal is awarded each year to the American news organization that wins the Public Service category.

256

This volume describes the fascinating and sometimes amazing story of the prestigeous Pulitzer Prizes in all journalistic award categories. On the basis of the confidential and unpublished jury reports it was made possible to reconstruct the decision-making discussions within the committees to confirm or prevent prize-winners by majority votings. The book also makes clear that Pulitzer awards during more than eight decades went to a broad spectrum of American newspapers. Heinz-Dietrich Fischer, EdD, PhD, is Professor Emeritus at the Ruhr-University of Bochum, Germany.

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