John Pulitzer, a major figure in journalism towards the end of the 19th century, established the Pulitzer Prizes through part of his will. Not only did he assign awards, letters, and scholarships for journalism, historical writing, drama, and travel; his will also saw to the creation of a board which would govern and adjust awards to keep the Pulitzer Prizes relevant to the future changing times. One steadfast requirement which was not to change, however, was a high standard of excellence mapped out by the board. (http://www.pulitzer.org/historyofprizes)
Due to this requirement for excellence, each piece submitted for consideration within any category underwent, and still undergoes, a rigorous, year-long process. Today, there are 102 judges annually appointed and divided into 20 juries for nominations within 21 categories. If a piece makes it through this process to an award, its creator is honored during an April lunch with the president of Columbia University. (http://www.pulitzer.org/administration)
The first Pulitzer Prize I found evidence of was issued in 1917 to Herbert Bayard Swope of New York World. This award was for a series of reports Swope wrote including an article entitled, "Inside the German Empire."
The subject of reporting is now divided into different categories including local reporting, national reporting, investigative reporting, etc. As an example of how stringently the Pulitzer nomination board keeps to its standard of excellence, there was no prize awarded under the category of “Breaking News Reporting” this year. However, Paige St. John of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune was given an award under the category of Investigative Reporting. She wrote about her examinations of “weaknesses in the murky property-insurance system vital to Florida homeowners, providing handy data to assess insurer reliability and stirring regulatory action” http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2011-Investigative-Reporting. See: http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/9192
Zhou Long also received a Pulitzer this year for his opera entitled, “Madame White Snake”. Long’s masterpiece draws from Chinese Folk Tales to bring eastern and western cultures together. http://www.pulitzer.org/works/2011-Music
Part of the Pulitzer’s importance lies in the way in brings value to each of these fields in which it offers awards, drawing from John Pulitzer’s passion for excellence within journalism. He felt strongly that journalism was meant to function as a public service and intended the financial fruits of his labor in life to support this function after his death.
