Today, the Pulitzer Prize is one of the most famous and, as a result, prestigious world awards in journalism, photojournalism, music, literature and theatrical art. It was approved on August 17, 1903 by Joseph Pulitzer, a well-known American publisher and journalist, whose name is still associated with the emergence of the "yellow press" genre.
Joseph Pulitzer was born in April 1847 in Hungary. Having emigrated to the United States at the age of seventeen, in 1878 he bought up two well-known American newspapers, the St. Louis Dispatch and St. Louis Post, and formed the new periodical, St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Convinced of the power of the press over human minds, Pulitzer uses his publication to publish the most controversial and controversial articles criticizing the actions of the authorities. Soon, his publication becomes one of the most profitable and influential in the western United States. In 1883, he buys New York World and turns it into a popular newspaper full of political news, supplemented by comics and illustrations. Joseph Pulitzer creates a journalism faculty and establishes the famous prize for the profit received from publishing newspapers.
Traditionally, the Pulitzer Prize is awarded on the first Monday of May by members of Columbia University for outstanding achievements in the field of literature and journalism. The size of the award for most nominations is ten thousand dollars. The category “For service to society” is separately noted, the winner of which receives not only monetary rewards, but also a gold medal “For worthy service to society”.
In total, there are currently about 25 different nominations, among which 14 are directly related to journalism. Literary prizes in six categories each year receive special attention: “For an art book written by an American writer about America, ” “For a biography or autobiography of an American author, ” “For a book on US history, ” “For a better drama, ” “For a poem, ” and "For non-fiction." According to historical reports, the Pulitzer Prize (books) was not awarded ten times, as the jury could not identify a single literary work worthy of an award.
Appearance story
As mentioned earlier, the Pulitzer Prize arose in 1903, when the will of Joseph Pulitzer was drawn up. It was first awarded in 1917. According to an agreement between Columbia University (under the auspices of the journalism faculty of which the annual award ceremony takes place) and Pulitzer, the cash part of the award is the annual income brought by the Pulitzer Foundation, formed through a two-million donation to the university. Thus, the annual cash fund of the premium is about 550 thousand dollars. In addition to donations from the merchant himself, in 1970 another fund was created that attracts additional funds to pay this prestigious award.
The number of nominations and awards over time also only increases. So, in 1922, the prize for the best caricature first appeared, and in 1942, the prize for the best photograph was first awarded. A little later, there were nominations for the best musical compositions and theatrical productions. In addition, since May 2006, not only paper, but also electronic works have been considered among applicants for the Pulitzer Prize.
Competition Jury
The Pulitzer Prize is awarded by the Board of Trustees of Columbia University based on the results of the Advisory Board. It is this body that has the decisive vote in determining the winners. Members of the Advisory Board are developing award criteria.
Initially, the council consisted of only thirteen members, but by mid-1990 there were already seventeen of them. To date, the Pulitzer Committee includes 19 experts, among whom are the award administrator, five well-known publishers, one columnist, six editors and six scientists.
The activities of the award competition committee are constantly criticized by the public. Each year, the jury receives many accusations of bias and subjectivity in awarding an honorary award. However, according to the will of the creator of the Pulitzer Prize, it is impossible to change the procedure for this procedure.
Award process
According to the charter of the prize, in order to receive a nomination in the field of journalism it is necessary to submit paper material no later than February 1 of this year. For literary works, the deadline is the first of July of last year for books published from January to June; and the first of November for books published from July to December.
Interestingly, journalism nominations can be announced on behalf of any person throughout the entire bonus period. The main thing is that the proposal should be provided with copies of documents confirming the candidate’s right to receive a prize. With regard to literature, the Council must provide four copies of the nominated book for review. A similar procedure is used in evaluating many literary prizes in Russia. But musical and dramatic works can be nominated for receiving awards no later than March 1 of the current year, and only on condition that all members of the jury are familiar with their public performance.
Decisions on the presentation of the award are made by the jury members appointed by the university for each individual category. Each jury must compile a list of three candidates and pass it on to the Pulitzer Prize Council. The Council, in turn, examines all the materials submitted to it, including written sources, recommendations and works of nominees, and after that sends its own references for approval to the Board of Trustees of Columbia University. The trustees receive a selection of the Council and immediately announce the names of the winners, without waiting for the official award ceremony. Note that neither the trustees, nor the jury members can influence the choice of the Council. Its members decide to award any nominee, regardless of the recommendations of the jury. At the same time, none of the trustees, members of the jury or the Council has the right to participate in the discussion or vote if the prize presented by them affects their personal interests. Membership in the Council is limited to three terms of 3 years each, and vacancies are filled by closed ballot, in which all current members of the Council are required to participate.
The most famous Pulitzer Prize winners
Since the emergence of this award, many writers and journalists have become its laureates, among whom were both well-known and not recognized by the public authors. The very first winner of the prize was the American journalist Herbert Bayard, who was awarded such a prestigious prize for a series of articles under the general title “Inside the German Empire”.
Over the years, literary prizes have been awarded to such works as Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, as well as Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”. At the same time, for the most part, books that won the Pulitzer Prize were never among the best sellers, just like the award-winning theater plays were never put on a wide stage.
As for the foreign Pulitzer Prize laureates, the first such nominee was the Russian journalist Artem Borovik with his report “Room 19” on the activities of the Brain Institute. Also in April 2011, the prize was awarded to Anna Politkovskaya for a detailed chronicle of the war in the Chechen Republic. Another Russian journalist, Alexander Zemlyanichenko, twice became a laureate of an award for his reporting on the Moscow putsch in 1991 and a photograph of Boris Yeltsin.
Pulitzer Prize for Literature. Key features of the award
As noted earlier, the Pulitzer Prize in Literature, unlike the winners in other categories, are not always widely known and recognized writers. And although the jury is often accused of incompetence and cheating. This is largely due to the fact that its members strictly observe the rules drawn up by Joseph Pulitzer himself, according to which this prize, like some literary prizes in Russia, is awarded only to those writers who have dedicated their books to the life and history of the United States.
Often, the works that are awarded, have a low literary value, but accurately and reliably describe life in the outback or tell, for example, about the personal problems of American teenagers. That is why these literary prizes are not broken down according to genre, but according to a temporary principle. Each year, the jury selects several works that best describe the present and past of the United States.
Recognition of the merits of journalists
The Pulitzer Journalism Prize is the most important and prestigious award for American periodicals. It includes many nominations, which evaluate both speed and reliability in reporting on events, as well as the personal contribution of journalists to their work. It is interesting that in this case, not only individuals, but entire publications become prize winners.
This is perhaps the most predictable Pulitzer Prize. The winners in this case are always known in advance, and to predict the results of the vote is not difficult. At the same time, this nomination is also considered the most calm in terms of high-profile scandals and accusations. Most critics agree that all the laureates of this award received their awards quite deservedly and legally.
Music and theater
In the field of music, the Pulitzer Prize is awarded in the amount of three thousand dollars. She is awarded for an outstanding work of the American composer, created in any large form. These are any orchestral, choral and chamber works, operas and other compositions.
In addition to the music prize, there are special scholarships in the amount of five thousand dollars that are awarded to outstanding graduates of the Faculty of Journalism who have expressed a desire to specialize in the field of music, theater, cinema or television criticism or literary criticism.
The Pulitzer Theater Prizes have a prize pool of three thousand dollars. They are awarded to venerable well-known directors as well as very young directors working on plays in diverse genres. As in the case of literature, many works that have received the recognition of a high jury have never been shown to the general public and have never been put on Broadway.
Shooting Reward
The Pulitzer Prize is deservedly considered one of the most coveted for the photographer. For many, it means much more than a simple monetary reward. It is a recognition of their merits, the value of daily work. At the same time, disputes still do not cease around this nomination. Public opinion is extremely controversial, and many people are not sure whether this Pulitzer Prize is needed at all. The photographs to which she is awarded often go beyond the boundaries of ordinary art. Most of the works are devoted to either little-known or already nagging problems. Professionals put on open show personal dramas and the broken destinies of people. Therefore, most photos leave a heavy residue after viewing.
Often criticized are not only the work, but also the photographers themselves. They are accused of filming horrific events, instead of helping people in distress. So, for example, Kevin Kartar, who received the award for a series of photographs “Hunger in the Sudan”, which depicts a girl who was weakened by hunger and a huge condor awaiting her death, committed suicide only two months after the award.
