Keyword: Pulitzer Prize

Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prizes measure excellence in journalism, literary achievements, and musical composition. The prizes are named after Joseph Pulitzer and were first awarded on June 4, 1917.

Joseph Pulitzer was a Hungarian-American newspaper publisher and journalist in the late 19th century. He was the first to express the need for training journalists at the university level. In 1904, Pulitzer’s will established and funded the Pulitzer Prizes. The prizes were created as an incentive to achieve excellence in journalism, drama, and education. The winning categories have been increased to include poetry, music, and photography. There are now a total of 21 categories.

The award recipients are announced each April in New York City. Unlike the Nobel Prize, a medal is not always given to the winners. In 20 of the Pulitzer categories, winners receive a $10,000 cash award and a certificate. Only the winning newspaper in the Public Service category of the Journalism competition is awarded a gold medal (shown here).

Pulitzer Prize winners have included: writer Ernest Hemingway, film critic Roger Ebert, writer Toni Morrison, musician Bob Dylan, and playwright Thornton Wilder has even won three.