Online Journalism News

Pulitzer Prize to embrace Web 2.0 elements

The Pulitzer Prize Board has established new rules allowing newspapers to submit a full array of online material such as databases, interactive graphics, and streaming video for its journalism awards.

An assortment of Web 2.0 elements will now be permitted in all awards except for the competition's two photography categories, which will continue to restrict entries to still images.

"This board believes that its much fuller embrace of online journalism reflects the direction of newspapers in a rapidly changing media world," said Sig Gissler, administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes.

"In effect, a newspaper must call out which online element it wants to be considered," Gissler said. "If an element has multiple parts, such as a graphic with various entry points, the conceptual logic linking the parts must be clear."

The new submission criteria states that each online element has to be a single, discretely designated presentation - such as a database, blog, interactive graphic, slide show, or video presentation.

Each of these designated elements will count as one item in the total number of items, print or online, permitted in any entry.

Last year, for the first time, the board allowed some online content in all categories. However, with the exception of the public service category, the online work was limited to written stories or still images.

The breaking news reporting and breaking news photography categories of the awards will remain open to material published entirely on a newspaper's website.

In all other categories an entry may contain online material but it must also contain material published in the print edition.

The board also announced that the local reporting category would replace beat reporting as one of the 14 prizes.

All changes will apply to work done in 2006 for prizes awarded in 2007.

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