2019 Pulitzer Prize jurors evaluate entered work. (Pulitzer Prizes/Jose R. Lopez)
The Journalism entry site is now open for the 2020 cycle. As entrants begin to take stock of their eligible work, we would like to apprise the journalism community of the latest rules changes and clarifications. These include:
- The deadline, which is now tied to the fourth Friday of January;
- Eligibility of web links in all textual categories;
- A table of contents requirement for multimedia projects;
- Revised partnership rules;
- A new category in Audio Reporting;
- Category-specific guidance for Local Reporting, Editorial Cartooning and Photography.
Please contact us at [email protected] or 212-854-3841 if you have any questions. Best of luck!
Deadline:
- The deadline is the fourth Friday of January at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. In 2020, this is January 24.
- Entrants are urged to submit their work at least several hours in advance of the deadline to mitigate the risk of unforeseen technological difficulties.
- Usernames and passwords for paywalled content should be specified in the label of the first item of your entry. All logins must remain active through the Prize announcement in April.
- We will begin to send approval messages and follow-up inquiries (if applicable) on January 27.
Web Links:
- Content may be submitted as web links (under the “Web Entry” tab) in all relevant categories. PDFs will continue to be accepted as an alternative.
- Links should correspond to a single piece of content. Those containing multiple substantial items (such as videos longer than 10 minutes and interactive graphics) should be identified and submitted separately toward the category limit.
- Linked items must reflect best editorial practices, including full disclosure of corrections and post-publication edits.
- This change does not apply to the requirements in Editorial Cartooning and the Photography categories.
Multimedia Project Table of Contents:
- Integrated multimedia projects should contain a supplemental table of contents directing the judges to the 10 most important items in the entry.
- Entrants who are not submitting a formal supplemental omnibus are free to upload the table of contents in DOCX and TXT form in the supplemental prompt. We ask that any supplemental materials continue to be uploaded as PDFs.
New Partnership Rules:
- The Board has clarified its stance regarding partnerships.
- When one news organization makes an entry for work in which it did the preponderance of the journalism and received primary credit in the presentation, the partnership will not count against the three-entry limit for the supporting partner.
- When the journalism was produced by two or more organizations that received substantial public credit, a joint entry can be made. Each participating organization is limited to three editorially sponsored joint entries per category alongside the standard editorially sponsored limit of three entries per category.
- Otherwise ineligible organizations and producers may enter up to three joint entries in Audio Reporting.
- However, entrants should be mindful that while significant individual contributors from ineligible organizations may be listed among the winners or finalists in non-Audio Reporting categories, the ineligible organization itself will not be listed in the award or finalist citation under the current rules. This is particularly applicable to staff entries involving more than five contributors.
Foreign Media:
- Foreign media remain ineligible.
- The presence of a dedicated American supplement or work that is akin to bureau coverage in a foreign publication does not satisfy the threshold for eligibility.
- We will continue to accept distinct American subsidiaries that contain a preponderance of United States-based work, such as The Guardian US, at the discretion of the Administrator.
Eligible News Sites:
- Eligible news sites are "U.S. online entities ranging from wire services to magazines to publications that gather and disseminate news, opinion and other information of public interest using the highest journalistic principles and standards."
Audio Reporting:
- The Pulitzer Prize Board announced a new category in Audio Reporting in December. Read the press release here.
- Radio broadcast outlets and independent producers also are permitted to apply in Audio Reporting.
- News organizations currently eligible to compete for the Pulitzer Prize will be permitted to enter audio stories in Audio Reporting.
- Broadcast news organizations and non-news entities remain ineligible in the traditional categories.
- Entries must demonstrate deep and revelatory reporting in the public interest. Submissions derived from panel-based, conversational and other opinion-oriented audio series (such as television recaps, political panels, historical series and one-on-one Q&As that primarily address a public figure's personal life) are ineligible.
- Crossfiling is not permitted in the category. Eligible news organizations may enter audio content as part of an entry in another category as long as the entry does not duplicate the Audio Reporting entry.
Local Reporting — Eligibility and Restrictions:
- Local Reporting entries must demonstrate "a grasp of a community's makeup, problems and concerns."
- Entries in this category are restricted to news organizations and journalists based in the state, territory or metropolitan area in which the coverage occurs.
Editorial Cartooning — Eligibility and Proof of Publication:
- A new question ("Where has this work been published?") has been added to the Editorial Cartooning questionnaire. Please list all publications in which your entered work has appeared.
- A proof-of-publication PDF file is still required for Editorial Cartooning.
- Syndicators do not keep readily available publication records. It is incumbent upon entering cartoonists to submit eligible clips.
- Personal websites and/or social media accounts generally are not eligible. Please contact us at [email protected] for an assessment if the work that you intend to enter appeared in these venues.
- Organizations that disseminate editorial cartoons as a public service while maintaining a syndication component (i.e. Cagle Cartoons) are eligible; however, work that is only available for syndication in publicly inaccessible venues (such as the Tribune Content Agency) does not satisfy our criteria until it appears in an eligible publication.
Photography — Eligibility and Proof of Publication:
- Please note that a proof-of-publication PDF file is still required for Breaking News Photography and Feature Photography.
- Foreign wire services (AFP, etc.) are eligible as long as proof of U.S. publication is demonstrated. Reuters and the Associated Press are considered to be American news organizations in the competition; British and Canadian news organizations do not satisfy the requirement.
- Syndicators do not keep readily available publication records. It is incumbent upon entering photographers to submit eligible clips.
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