Mike Pride presides at the 2016 Pulitzer Prize ceremony. (Eileen Barroso/Columbia University)
Former Pulitzer Prize Board Co-Chair and Administrator Mike Pride died Monday in Florida from complications of a longstanding blood disorder. He was 76.
"The world of local news journalism has lost a pioneer and champion," said Poynter Institute President and incumbent Pulitzer Board Co-Chair Neil Brown. "As a young journalist in Florida, as an editor of one of the nation's most respected local newsrooms in New Hampshire, as a writer and lover of history and as a champion for the excellence epitomized by the Pulitzer Prizes, Mike Pride was synonymous with skill and integrity."
Former Pulitzer Board Co-Chair and Associated Press Vice President/Editor at Large for Standards John Daniszewski echoed Brown's sentiments. "Mike Pride was an example of the highest values in journalism, both as editor of the Concord Monitor in New Hampshire, and as a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board and then as administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes," he added. "You could rely on his sturdy news judgment and insights in discussions. He celebrated and lauded the craft of local American dailies. His love of poetry carried over into a love of language in general and enriched his storytelling."
The only person to date who has served as a Pulitzer juror (1994, 1995, 2012, 2013), Board member (1999-2008), Board co-chair (2007-2008) and as administrator (2014-2017), Pride was best known for his storied tenure as editor of the Concord (N.H.) Monitor. An eclectic reader whose own books ranged from a Civil War-era history of Key West to a work about World War II's Pacific theater, he proudly situated local journalism in the broader milieu of American letters, forging vital relationships between his newsroom and dozens of luminaries of contemporary poetry. 
Pride (seated third from left) as co-chair of the Pulitzer Board in 2008. (Eileen Barroso/Columbia University)
The paper's quadrennial coverage of the state's early presidential primary was a key proving ground for generations of emergent journalists. By the time the publication was catapulted to national attention following the death of Teacher in Space Project payload specialist (and fellow adopted New Hampshirite) Christa McAuliffe in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster of 1986, he already enjoyed a reputation as a premier talent-spotter and forthright mentor.
"Mike had a long and productive relationship with the Pulitzer Prizes, first as a juror, then as a Board member and co-chair, and finally as administrator," said Deputy Administrator Bud Kliment, who worked closely with Pride throughout all facets of his Pulitzer service. "And he helped so many young reporters get started in the profession that he also should be remembered as a great journalism teacher."
As a Pulitzer Board member, Pride oversaw many triumphs (such as the 2008 Special Citation to Bob Dylan) while also grappling with a decade of systemic change in a profession he had practiced since serving as a teenage sports reporter at the Tampa Tribune. Several years later, he was called out of retirement to serve as administrator amid the increasing entrenchment of digital media and a local news crisis that had begun to engulf the nation. While presiding over the Pulitzer Centennial celebration in 2016 (including a rare reunion of generations of Pulitzer winners at the now-defunct Newseum in Washington, D.C.), he also forged an inclusive vision for the future of the awards in the Pulitzer offices on upper Broadway, shepherding everything from increased jury diversity to the acceptance of magazines and novel platforms in the spirit of experimentation. 
Pride announces the 2015 Pulitzer Prizes at a press conference in the Columbia Journalism School's World Room. (The Pulitzer Prizes/Columbia University)
For more information about Pride (including his Cold War-era military service as a Russian linguist and his pathbreaking coverage of the Church of Scientology), click here to read his obituary in the Concord Monitor. Written by colleague and close friend Mark Travis, it highlights an inimitably rich life.
"He was such a wonderful man," said Daniszewski, who served on the committee during Pride's tenure as administrator. "The world is a poorer place without him."