Administration of the Prizes

More than 2,500 entries are submitted annually in the Pulitzer Prize competition, which is designed to celebrate excellence in journalism, arts, and letters. Only 23 awards are normally announced each spring, marking the culmination of a year-long process that begins with the appointment of more than 100 distinguished judges who serve on 22 separate juries. These judges have the difficult task of assessing submissions and narrowing finalists to just three nominations in each of the 23 categories.

Before they begin reviewing submissions, jurors must agree upon a set of criteria that will be used to assess the entries. These criteria could include difficulty, novelty, and impact, for example.

For the 15 journalism categories specifically, about 1,100 entries are submitted each year. These entries come from United States newspapers, magazines or news sites that publish regularly during the calendar year and adhere to the highest journalistic principles. In recent years, eligibility has been expanded to allow submissions from new and emerging media platforms, such as broadcast websites and Substack.

In late February or early March, more than 80 editors, publishers, writers, and educators gather in the School of Journalism to judge the journalism entries. These jurors are recognized experts in their respective fields who bring unique and varied perspectives to the award consideration process. Their service is limited to a two-year term to ensure a continuous flow of new viewpoints.

Because the Pulitzer Board takes seriously its mission to recognize excellence in reporting, literature, history, and culture, Pulitzer deliberations and reviews have long remained confidential to protect the integrity of the award process from outside interference or influence from journalists, news organizations, or the news subjects of awards submissions. Pulitzer Prize jurors, board members, and reviewers are instructed that confidentiality is an essential element of their service, and they must also adhere to conflict-of-interest rules designed to preserve impartiality. This means jurors may not judge submissions from their own news organizations, for example, nor can they review submissions from friends or family members. All judges or board members must recuse themselves from discussions on submissions from their own media outlets or news organizations.

In Photography, a single jury judges both the Breaking News category and the Feature category. Since the inception of the prizes, the journalism categories have been expanded and repeatedly redefined by the Board to keep abreast of the evolution of American journalism. For example, the program's Telegraphic Reporting awards were broadened to include other forms of reporting on national and international affairs in 1948. The prize for Photography was established in 1942, and in 1968 the category was divided into Spot or Breaking News Photography and Feature Photography. With the development of computer-altered photos, the Board stipulated in 1995 that "no entry whose content is manipulated or altered, apart from standard newspaper cropping and editing, will be deemed acceptable." As alacritous technological innovations have continued to manifest in subsequent decades, entry criteria in both categories were significantly revised in 2023. Following several permutations dating back to 1948, the modern Local Reporting category was established in 2006. The increasing prominence of podcasting in early 21st century media precipitated the establishment of an Audio Reporting category in 2020.

From 1964 to 1999, each journalism jury consisted of five members. Due to the growing number of entries in the Public Service, Investigative Reporting, Explanatory Reporting, Feature Writing and Commentary categories, these juries were enlarged to seven members beginning in 1999. The jury members, working intensively for two days, examine every entry before making their nominations. (Throughout the respective judging periods, all entries also are reviewed for eligibility compliance by the Administrator's Office.) Entries in the Public Service, Illustrated Reporting & Commentary, and Photography categories are limited to 15 articles, cartoons, illustrations or pictures, and in the remaining categories, to seven articles or editorials - except for Feature Writing, which has a maximum of five articles.

For a distinguished example of meritorious public service by a newspaper or news site through the use of its journalistic resources, including the use of stories, editorials, cartoons, photographs, graphics, videos, databases, multimedia or interactive presentations or other visual material.
For a distinguished example of local, state or national reporting of breaking news that, as quickly as possible, captures events accurately as they occur, and, as time passes, illuminates, provides context and expands upon the initial coverage.
For a distinguished example of investigative reporting, using any available journalistic tool.
For a distinguished example of explanatory reporting that illuminates a significant and complex subject, demonstrating mastery of the subject, lucid writing and clear presentation, using any available journalistic tool.
For a distinguished example of coverage of significant issues of local or statewide concern, demonstrating originality and community connection, using any available journalistic tool.
For a distinguished example of reporting on national affairs, using any available journalistic tool.
For a distinguished example of reporting on international affairs, using any available journalistic tool.
For a distinguished example of feature writing giving prime consideration to quality of writing, originality and concision, using any available journalistic tool.
For distinguished commentary, using any available journalistic tool.
For distinguished criticism, using any available journalistic tool.
For distinguished editorial writing, the test of excellence being clearness of style, moral purpose, sound reasoning, and power to influence public opinion in what the writer conceives to be the right direction, using any available journalistic tool.
For a distinguished portfolio of editorial cartoons or other illustrated work (still, animated, or both) characterized by political insight, editorial effectiveness, or public service value.
For a distinguished example of breaking news photography, which may be a single photograph or series of photographs of an event that occurs with no advance notice and requires spontaneous coverage in the moment.
For a distinguished example of feature photography, which may be a single photograph or series of photographs of general news that may be taken over time and that illuminate a subject in great depth.
For a distinguished example of audio journalism that serves the public interest, characterized by revelatory reporting and illuminating storytelling.

As the journalism process goes forward, more than 1,400 book entries — submitted entirely via the Pulitzer entry website since 2020 — have already been reviewed by six book juries (currently comprised of five judges per panel) in the latter half of the preceding year, with a final submission deadline (encompassing all works published in the calendar year) in October. Working remotely for most of their service, the juries submit their first nominations to the Board in the weeks following the October deadline and the remaining nominations in the weeks preceding the journalism deadline:

For distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life.
For a distinguished and appropriately documented book on the history of the United States.
For a distinguished and appropriately documented biography by an American author.
For a distinguished and factual memoir or autobiography by an American author.
For a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author.
For a distinguished and appropriately documented book of nonfiction by an American author that is not eligible for consideration in any other category.

The Poetry Prize (which evolved from the earlier Columbia University Poetry Prize) was established in earnest in 1922, while the Nonfiction Prize followed in 1962. The Memoir Prize was established in 2021. Throughout much of the program's history, book jurors have included prominent literary and journalistic practitioners, distinguished academics and belletristic critics from American media organizations.

For the Drama Prize, a jury, usually composed of critics, academics and playwrights, reviews playscripts submitted from dozens of New York and regional productions in a period concurrent to the journalism competition following an early January submission deadline. Although the award is conferred to the playwright(s) of the winning work, the production of the play is taken into account.

The Music Prize jury, usually made up of leading composers and critics, meets in New York in the same timeframe to listen to recordings and (when applicable) study the scores of pieces, which usually number more than 150. Since the award's inception, a part-time Music Secretary has served as the primary liaison between the jury and the Administrator's Office due to the field's comparative specialization. The Drama and Music deadlines are customarily coterminous, usually falling in the first week of the new year for work premiered in the preceding calendar year.

The final act of the annual competition is enacted in early May, when the Board assembles for two days in the Pulitzer World Room of the Columbia Journalism School. In prior weeks, the Board had read the texts of the journalism entries and the 18 nominated books, listened to music recordings, read the scripts of the nominated plays, and attended the performances or seen videos where possible. By custom, it is incumbent on Board members not to vote on any award under consideration unless they have reviewed the entries. As with jurors, Board members recuse themselves from voting on any finalist where there might be a conflict of interest.

There are subcommittees for books, drama and music whose members usually lead the discussions. Beginning with books, drama and music, the Board, in turn, reviews the nominations of each jury. Each jury is required to offer three nominations but in no order of preference, although the jury chair in a report accompanying the submission can broadly reflect the views of the members. Board discussions are animated and often hotly debated. Work done by individuals tends to be favored. In journalism, if more than five individuals are cited in an entry, the prize goes to the staff of the news organization.

Awards are made by majority vote, but the Board is also empowered to vote 'no award,' or by three-fourths vote to select an entry that has not been nominated or to switch nominations among the categories. If the Board is dissatisfied with the nominations of any jury, it can ask the Administrator to consult with the chair to ascertain if there are other worthy entries. Meanwhile, the deliberations continue.

Both the jury nominations and the awards voted by the Board are held in strict confidence until the announcement of the prizes, which takes place on the Monday after the meeting in the World Room. Towards 3:00 p.m. (Eastern time) of the day of the announcement, in hundreds of newsrooms across the United States, journalists gather to wait for the bulletins that bring explosions of joy and celebrations to some and disappointment to others. The announcement is then made by the Administrator at 3:00 p.m. in a livestreamed video. (Until 2019, the announcement was structured as a press conference in the World Room or the Journalism School's Joseph D. Jamail Lecture Hall.)

The announcement includes the name of the winner in each category as well as the names of the other two finalists. The three finalists in each category are the only entries in the competition that are recognized by the Pulitzer Board as nominees. The announcement also lists the Board members and the names of the jurors, which have previously been kept confidential to avoid lobbying.

A gold medal is awarded to the winner in Public Service. Along with the certificates in the other categories, there are cash awards of $15,000, raised in 2017 from $10,000. Five Pulitzer fellowships of $7,500 each are also awarded annually on the recommendation of the faculty of the School of Journalism. They enable four of its outstanding graduates to travel, report, and study abroad and one fellowship is awarded to a graduate who wishes to specialize in drama, music, literary, film, or television criticism. For most recipients of the Pulitzer Prizes, the cash award is only incidental to the prestige accruing to them and their works. There are numerous competitions that bestow far larger cash awards, yet which do not rank in public perception on a level with the Pulitzers. The Pulitzer accolade in various fora (ranging from the cover of a book to the publicity materials for a film or television adaptation of a winning work to the marquee of a theater where a winning play is being staged) usually does translate into commercial gain.

The Pulitzer process initially was funded by investment income from the original endowment. But by the 1970s the program was suffering a loss each year. In 1978, the Board established a foundation for the creation of a supplementary endowment, and fundraising on its behalf continued through the 1980s. The program is now comfortably funded with investment income from the two endowments and the $75 fee charged for each entry into the competitions. The investment portfolios are administered by Columbia University.

Members of the Pulitzer Prize Board and journalism jurors receive no compensation. The jurors in books, drama, and music, in appreciation of their year-long work, receive modest honoraria.

Unlike the elaborate ceremonies and royal banquets attendant upon the presentation of the Nobel Prizes in Stockholm and Oslo, since 1984 Pulitzer winners have received their prizes from the president of Columbia University at a ceremony in the rotunda of the Low Library in the presence of family members, professional associates and Board members. (Held as a May luncheon for more than three decades, the ceremony has since evolved into an October dinner in tandem with the Board's autumn business meeting.) While the Board has declined offers to transform the occasion into a television extravaganza, video of the awards presentation has often been shared on YouTube since 2012.