For the first time this year the Pulitzer Prize awards have opened all 14 categories to news organisations that operate solely online, as reported by CNN. While they picked up no prizes this year, it has shown a recognition for the news coming from outside the traditional press, somewhere news is perhaps headed in the future.
“We’ve clearly hit a point now where we’ve seen the audience migration to the Web accelerate” said Amy Mitchell from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. Previously online only news websites were only allowed to enter for awards in the categories of breaking news coverage and breaking news photography. Since 2006, newspapers with websites were allowed to submit website content to all 14 categories, but websites for print magazines and broadcasting outlets are still not allowed to enter.
While the Project for Excellence in Journalism had concerns over the decline in standards and values that may arise with online journalism, they are optimistic about the opportunity to “tell stories in a multi dimensional way.” There are now more modes for conveying the news, from the usual text, to numerous photograph galleries, videos etc and far more interactivity, even between the journalist and their audience.
Robert M. Steele, Professor of Journalism at DePauw University, Indianna notes how the inclusion of these online only news websites brings to light the “discussion about the distinction between basic information and substantive journalism”, perhaps giving more recognition to what is genuinely good journalism found online.
Steele also says that it ” gives further weight to the role that digital journalism plays in this era”, which could well be a more substantial role in the near future.
The New York Times received five Pulitzer Prizes.
