Silence is golden.
Which really stinks, especially when you’re trying to find which U.S. dailies or news websites might have come away with a Pulitzer Prize this year?
The finalists and winners for journalism’s top prize will be announced today, Monday, April 15th at 3:00 p.m. (ET). Winners will officially receive their prize at a luncheon held on May 30th on the Columbia University campus in New York City.
While frustrated with most news organizations being so tight-lipped and refusing to show their hand, rumors from The New York Times newsroom, (strictly rumors, mind you ) did reach my ears.
It is believed The New York Times came away with four Pulitzers in 2013.
One should come with absolutely no surprise; and that is San-Francisco-based New York Times reporter John Branch’s heartbreaking narrative of the massive avalanche that killed three people at the out-of-bounds Tunnel Creek ski run near Stevens Pass, Washington.
The Times second Pulitzer is believed to be David Barstow’s blockbuster investigation, revealing bribery by Wal-Mart de Mexico, which acted as an aggressive and creative corrupter by offering large payoffs in clear violation of the law.
The other two Pulitzer’s in the Times column might be Chinese corruption and the European Economy.
Many in the Times’ newsroom are apparently scratching their heads, wondering how Dan Barry was shut out, especially after producing such an exceptionally strong pre-election story from Ohio. And according to one Times’ staffer, many believe its Hurricane Sandy coverage should have been a contender.
Mr. Branch was a Pulitzer finalist last year in the category of Feature Writing for brawling in hockey and the tragic story of Derek Boogaard.
Mr. Barstow, another possible Pulitzer recipient, was awarded a Pulitzer in 2009 (in the category of Investigative Reporting) for his dogged reporting that revealed how some retired generals, working as radio and television analysts, had been co-opted by the Pentagon to make its case for the war in Iraq, and how many of them also had undisclosed ties to companies that benefited from policies they defended. His first Pulitzer came in 2004 in the category of Public Service when he and Lowell Bergman were recognized for their examination of death and injury among American workers, while exposing employers who broke basic safety rules.
If the Times does indeed come away with four Pulitzer’s, this will be up from last year when they came away with only two: One in the category of Explanatory Reporting, the other in the category of International Reporting.
Since 1918, The New York Times have won 108 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper.
-Bill Lucey
April 15, 2013
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