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Pulitzer's Gold: Behind the Prize for Public Service Journalism

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Roy Harris has done a tremendous job bringing much forgotten history alive with his eloquent book Pulitzer's Gold. In the tradition of great historical writers like Barbara Tuchman, Harris weaves together rich strands of narrative to tell the compelling stories behind the most influential journalism of our times like the publishing of the Pentagon Papers, the year-long investigation into the Watergate break-in by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, and the outing of the Boston Diocese's shocking cover-up of the sexual predators in its midst. These stories and others are already familiar to us but what's not familiar are the stories behind the stories, and by filling in these details, Harris does a tremendous service not only to journalists but to anyone for whom history is a dynamic, urgent teacher. In reading Harris' gripping accounts of how these stories unfolded, I was reminded how vital good historical writing is to our understanding of what's going on today. This book is sure to attract a readership outside the communities of journalists and historians for whom these stories will be engrossing; I suspect anyone with a thirst for understanding our contemporary culture will find his writing invaluable. Maybe even more importantly, they'll find the stories just a good read. After all, how many of us knew that both the New York Times and the Washington Post were almost bypassed for the Public Service gold medal by the Pulitzer committee for their respective work on the Pentagon Papers and Watergate? And for the Watergate affecianado, Harris' interviews with Bob Woodward and others provides entirely fresh accounts of those pivotal events from the people that were there.That's living history.

Pure Gold---Five Shining Stars for "Pulitizer's Gold"

"river run, past Eve and Adam's," so begins Joyce's "Finnegans Wake" that boisterous tale tracing through time and space the story of Anna Livia Plurabelle, the Liffey, and her people. As we reach the sea, the last words of the last chapter, ("A way a lone a last a loved a long the") return to the first. "Pulitzer's Gold" has that grand cycling sweep. Beginning in Chapter 1 with the heart-holding, eye-catching stories of the two 2006 prizes (for coverage of Hurricane Katrina by the Sun Herald and the Times Picayune), the book's close celebrates the 200l award to the Oregonian for uncovering U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service abuses.

The 21 glorious chapters interweave three eternal golden braids, as intricate as any described by Hofstadter in Escher, Gödel, and Bach. These are (1) the story of the Pulitzer Prize itself, a story of growth, change, challenges, and evolution, (2) the individual stories of the newspapers, publishers, editors, and investigative reporters on whose walls shine the gold medals, and (3) the winning stories themselves, an archive of democracy in America, 1917 to the present.

Written tautly, wittily, masterfully, Pulitzer's Gold represents in itself a monumental investigative expedition. Archival research, yes, but also years of meetings, interviews, conversations, verifying and expanding what was being discovered. As good a read as a novel, this is equally a work of scholarship, each chapter detailing the sources, and illuminated by a comprehensive appendix of all the Pulitzer journal awards.

The bigger story is told through the individual stories, an approach that is endlessly fascinating. This is, in a way, the Vietnam Memorial Wall of courageous, high risk, public service journalism. The names and to a good extent the personalities whose best and brightest work may have gone into each Gold Medal award live again in this book. They are spoken of with the respect, honor, and appreciation that one outstanding journalist---Harris--- can give to another, a discerning, differentiating, discriminating honor someone outside of journalism probably could not fully catch with a guide such as Harris.

Equally valuable is the mother lode of information most of us may not know about the prizes: for example, that the applicants self-nominate and have to prepare portfolios showing why the story they propose should be recognized. For example, that consequences---results, impacts, actions---are one of the three criteria for the award, anticipating by many years the expectation that claims for merit have to be backed up by evidence of good effects.

Indeed, this book had its beginning in a presentation given by author Roy J. Harris Jr. on the one hundredth birthday of his father, Roy J. Harris Sr, of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. In this presentation, Harris Jr. not only honored his award-winning father but also reflected on the newspaper's then unique record of receiving five Pulitzer Gold awards. "What," he asked then, "was happening in this paper, at this time, that raised the St. Louis Post Dispatch to such a level of achievement?" The St. Louis Post Dispatch was among the journalistic homes of the Pulitzer family, but there was more happening---actually, the procedures of the award intended to reduce favoritism may have acted against specific recognition. What was that "more? Harris shared with us in this presentation what he learned about the way in which courageous public service journalism is created.

Now, seven years later, we are fortunate to have a full picture, across all the winners, that offers a basis in evidence for consideration of the organizational qualities and the individual qualities encouraging the risks of public service investigations. Pulitzer's Gold is a grand panoramic picture, a grand book to study, and a grand book to read.

If there is a "but" to this marvelous book, it may be a yearning for a closing chapter tracing the meaning of the strands and putting together an initial overall answer to what makes for a great newspaper (by Pulitzer standards) and where we are today. For example, the Pulitzer strand shows many changes: are the forces that drove these needed changes still vital? What may be ahead for the Pulitzer Board (and committees) in the changing future?

In contrast, there is splendid detail about each winning story but less sense of growth and more sense of a stasis in that the stories are mostly about: corruption and catastrophes. Some hard-hitting, exceptionally courageous stories about the Ku Klux Klan helped do their good work, and the Klan has disappeared in gold award winners in the last decades. Environmental issues can be seen expanding in passion and depth. Bad government is an enduring topic. Few investigative, award-winning stories seem to honor what works. Is this apparent pattern because public service journalism as anticipated in the Freedom of Speech clauses is essential to telling truths to power, particularly its inconvenient, bad, and ugly sides? Having worked for the U.S. General Accountability Office, I fully appreciate the need for as many trust-worthy feet as possible to jump into that scale of justice, but a last chapter really getting into Harris's ideas about the grand themes would be, well, grand.

The "but" is minor relative to all that is excellent in "Pulitzer's Gold." From the
elegant, appropriate cover designed by Kristie Lee, to the beautifully typography and layout, to the superb contents, this book is highly recommended. Applause to RJH, Jr., who has continued the noble legacy of the "century of those who mined the gold" and in doing so, help us honor the courage of those who are writing next year's award winning story.

Former Wall Street Journal reporter Roy J. Harris Jr. presents Pulitzer's Gold: Behind the Prize for Public Service Journalism, an in-depth account of the ninety-year history of the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, especially the most exalted prize of the Joseph Pulitzer Gold Medal. From accountings of the distinguished journalistic coverage that exposed sexual predators among Catholic priests, to the New York Times' role in helping the community cope after the September 11th attacks, to the Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's uncovering of the Watergate scandal, to the Boston Post's revelation of swindling schemes hatched by Charles Ponzi and much more, Pulitzer's Gold takes the reader on a one-of-a-kind historical tour. A distinguished tribute to the journalists who labored to bring the truth to light and help make America better place to live, as well as a studious history of journalism's most prestigious award.

Roy Harris has done a thorough and masterful job telling the stories of how the most worthy of all Pulitzler Prizes have been won.
Revealing how the winning newspapers deployed their resources, made courageous decisions and maintained journalism's highest ideals -- often against great odds and determined foes -- makes for inspiring reading.
In this, perhaps the most challenging time ever to be practicing journalism, "Pulitzer's Gold" is a vivid reminder of the pivotal role of selfless, dedicated, professional journalism in America.
Every journalist -- every citizen -- should read this book. These days, the role of a free press in the United States often is challenged, even ridiculed; Harris' book is a reminder of the critical importance of a free press in a democracy.
We crown heroes easily in our culture; the people Harris writes about in Pulitzer's Gold really are heroic, and this book serves a great public service in elevating the work of journalism's finest.

Pulitzer's Gold: Behind the Prize for Public-Service Journalism

Given a choice between a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, Thomas Jefferson said he would choose the press.

"Pulitzer's Gold" shows us why.

This is the story behind the top newspaper stories of nearly a century. The Pulitzer Prize for Public-Service Journalism, the press equivalent of a Congressional Medal of Honor, has been awarded to newspapers that brought down a president, exposed a wide-ranging cover up of sexual abuse by Catholic priests, and delivered Katrina's stink to the world's doorstep.

Author Roy J. Harris Jr. introduces readers to the man for whom the prizes are named. He examines the politics that have spawned conflict on the Pulitzer board.

What no newshound can hope to resist, however, are the insider tales of newsroom drama that make up the bulk of his book. Harris shows us the career making decisions that led to Pulitzer Prize winning stories.

Readers can feel the despair and elation that must have swept through The Charlotte Observer's newsroom as the story of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker was snatched away when a major source recanted. The determined news staff pursued it until they discovered that church-funded hush money had been paid paid to silence the source. This and a wealth of other insider stories are what make Pulitzer's Gold a treasure.

Never in any time in our nation's relatively short history has journalism been under greater threat of extinction than now. The threat comes from the Internet, but also from corporate conglomerates that care only for quarterly earnings statements.

Pulitzer's Gold tells helps demonstrate the absolute necessity for the nation to sustain its journalists, who must have the support of newspaper owners and editors if they're to go on exposing the rot within our church, government, and businesses to the healing light of public knowledge.

So, I've known the author for more than five years, but I never knew what he did (old man softball league teammates are often like that). Driving him to the ER for a hamstring issue (but he really did make a great play!), I learn that Roy is a journalist who has written a serious book about the ultimate badge of recognition in his profession. Off to Amazon to learn about it. The book's description, editorial reviews, and customer reviews suggest that I very much want to read this book. I order the paperback edition and begin reading the day it arrives; I find that I have trouble stopping.

I can not improve upon the reviews and descriptions of "Pulitzer's Gold" found on this site. Read through them all and you will understand why this is an important work. What I can share, though, is a bit of my enthusiasm. This is an engaging and even fun book to read, one difficult to put down. Although each Pulizer story is self-contained, I found myself reading just "one more" over and over.

I've now purchased the hardback edition for my library, while my paperback edition is making the rounds to friends.

Nice job, Roy (and keep that hamstring loose)!

Mr. Harris has given the reader an excellent and enjoyable experience that works on several levels. Not everyone understands much about the craft of reporting or working for the modern print media. The author pulls back the veil and gives us insight as to how events become news, now actions become stories. In addition, he causes us to recall and reflect on events that seemed earth-shaking a few short years ago, causing this reader to reflect on how quickly important stories get squeezed off the front page and out of my immediate awareness. We also see how the award selection works. I was gratified by the professionalism the activity embodies. This is also a compliation of stories of creative excellence. The winners of this singular journalistic award are not only superb writers and accomplished fact gatherers, they persist when circumstances might have caused others to turn aside, they snoop when others see nothing to trip curiosity, and (especially small town reporters/editors) often display great moral and physical courage in calling the attention of their readers to a situation that merits closer examination. It is doubtless an act of courage for the Washington Post to follow the Watergate trail, just as it was for the New York Times to publish the Pentagon Papers: One might say, however, that when the author cites awards won by small town papers recounted in these skillfully-crafted stories we see an even greater example of the best of the journalistic profession. By presenting stories about exposing the evils of the KKK in the South in less enlightened times, or telling readers about the shady goings-on in California cult cultures and being faced with potential financial ruin and the threat of physical reprisal, small news operations rise dramatically above what one anticipates from newspapers of limited resources. Mr. Harris tells these wonderful stories of reporters and editors that rose above the common place. Not only is the reader rewarded by learning or re-learning about events large and small in scope that contributed to our journey as a People, we are also drawn along by the writers' most able skills of story telling. In reading this book I often felt I was in a den, with a whisky in hand listening to a great story teller keep me spellbound by his tales. Pulitzer's Gold is a sparkling and extremely well drawn portriat of a craft the author clearly loves and shares with us in splendid fashion.

The author of this book is a colleague of mine, which is how I first learned about the book. I'm very glad I came across it.

"Pulitzer's Gold" is a history of the Pulitzer Public Service Gold Medal for journalism -- the award won by the Washington Post for its Watergate coverage and the New York Times for publishing the Pentagon Papers. More recently, the prize has been won by The Wall Street Journal (for reporting on the manipulation of business executives' stock options) and The Times-Picayune in New Orleans and the Sun-Herald of Biloxi-Gulfport (joint winners in 2006 for their reporting on Hurricane Katrina).

The book covers the basic history of the Pulitzers in general -- when and why Joseph Pulitzer established them; the reaction from other journalists and newspaper publishers; how the judging process changed over the decades. But the mainly the book consists of mini-case studies of selected papers and stories that have won the prize throughout the years -- including some surprisingly small papers that you might not think had a chance at a Pulitzer.

I found it fascinating reading, like opening a window onto the workings of daily newspapers. You get an insight into some of the problems that come up when reporters are working on a story and the sheer volume of work and number of hours involved in some of the news-gathering efforts. (If anyone doubts that the current financial struggles of the news media might have a negative impact on the news we get to read, they'll see very clearly why that's the case after reading this book.)

I especially enjoyed learning about some of the stories I hadn't read or heard of. Some were heartbreaking, like the story of a Texas marine recruit killed during training. On a tip from one of his relatives (the family was simply told that it was an "accidental death"), the tiny Lufkin (Texas) News investigated and found evidence of a cover-up, which prompted Congress to hold hearings on recruitment techniques. The Los Angeles Times' reporting on preventable deaths at a local hospital was another one that stood out for me.

You also find out how technology played a role in reporting even in the early 20th century -- for instance, the New York Times was able to use telegraphed reports from overseas to scoop its competitors. And there were some amusing anecdotes, like the one about the Times editor who was reading over a story on a lecture Albert Einstein gave at Princeton. The editor, Carr Van Anda, thought he spotted an error in one of the equations. Einstein's colleague checked and found the equation read exactly as Einstein had presented it during the talk. The professor then checked with Einstein himself, just to be sure. To his surprise, Einstein realized that Van Anda was correct -- there was an error in the equation. And according to Einstein's colleague, this was "at a time when relativity was only understood by Dr. Einstein and by the Diety. ... Dr. Einstein had already lost even the professorial mathemeticians who were [at Princeton] to hear him."

I'd highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in journalism, whether they're a career journalist, a journalism student, or just someone who reads the news every day.