Appendix A: Journalism Awards and Prizes - Introduction

As with most mass media, journalism gives a wide variety of awards and prizes for superior work. Countless organizations (some directly related to journalism, others emphasizing other fields) offer one or more annual honors for work in just about every journalism specialty and format.

This appendix briefly describes some of the more important awards and prizes for print or electronic journalism, though by no means all of them, as new ones are appearing all the time. Not included are awards given for very subject-specific reporting, fellowships and internships, or awards granted outside the United States. The honors included here are awarded for excellent work, whether over the previous year or through lifetime achievements. Virtually all these award programs are designed to both encourage and recognize high quality output by regularly acknowledging the best work.

Journalism award programs vary in many ways. A few are given but not applied for (e.g., the Benjamin Bradlee award), though most are conducted as active contests where applications are encouraged and form the universe from which winners are chosen. Some bestow only one or two awards each year, while others (e.g., Sigma Delta Chi) award a substantial list of winners in different categories. Awards overlap in many cases, and it's not unusual to apply for more than one. How awards are judged varies as well, usually relying on the judgment of peers in any given area. Some prizes carry monetary awards (which can be substantial), but many provide only a plaque or some other indicator of status. Many award programs provide just that—quite extensive and ongoing processes that lead to prizes given for a host of sometimes quite-specific categories. Most are named either in honor of key figures in the field, or those who provided the initial award funding.

Awards included in this appendix are listed alphabetically by their name under five broad categories—(1) the Pulitzer Prizes, for which we provide considerable detail, and then (2) general journalism awards, (3) specialized journalism awards and prize programs, (4) awards for the electronic media, and (5) prizes for photography and political cartoons.

—Christopher H. Sterling Volume Editor