There are few prizes in journalism as famous as the Pulitzers. But now in their 90th year (but launching their 91st awards), they illustrate a tendency all too frequent in awards – inflation. Back in 1917 there were just three categories of journalism gong: public service, reporting and editorial writing. Now there are fourteen. Everyone likes a reward, but wouldn’t it be nice if sometimes an accolade remained a lone peak, a Mount McKinley to others Adirondacks?
One response to “Proliferating Pulitzers”
Good point. I wonder, though, if the population of journalists and broadcasters hasn’t increased by more than 5X. It wouldn’t surprise me if the odds of winning are actually lower now than 100 years ago.