Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Pulitzer Prize


For the first time in history two Web sites have won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize. I know this is a big deal since I was the first visiting lecturer who taught a class on Online Publishing at the University of Texas. While internet exists for more than three decades, newspapers have taken their online publications seriously for maybe the last five years. Well, with rewarding two journalistic Web sites, ProPublica and www.sfgate.com, we can conclude that there is no future for newspapers without their online portals.
Of course I knew that already for many years (that's why I started my online magazine) but this is a good sign for all the big newspapers publishers.

With this terrific news, I feel double euphoria.
First is, that, nobody, not a single Journalism University or College, can deny the importance of online content.
Second, (the real reason why I write this blog) is that I had the privilege to work together with the editor of the book, America’s Best Writing: Pulitzer Prize Feature Stories, David Garlock.

Dave, my senior, assembled 25 feature articles and analyzed the quality of the research, reporting and writing of the stories and why they deserved the Prize for Outstanding Journalism. This book 'Pulitzer Prize Feature Stories - America's Best Writing 1979-2003' is a help and an inspiration for writers, both established and upcoming.' And let me note here, as a 'global journalist', that this book is not only for American journalists, but every journalist, worldwide, can learn a lot from it.

It's every journalist's desire to have the opportunity to work with such an amazing professor. Our daily chats in his small office were very valuable for me. In his office where every wall was surrounded with books and magazines we discussed world issues. And I will never forget his profound curiosity and interest in my thoughts but also he wanted to know my opinion about a certain topic in his class. As a 'small fish', for the first time teaching in a Journalism school, I felt very often that I worked together with the 'big catches'.

Some information about Dave:

He has been on the UT faculty for 21 years, teaching a wide variety of magazine writing, reporting and management classes. He is also advisor for the campus magazine, Orange. Before that, he was a Texas-based independent magazine consultant and publisher. He was the vice president and editorial director in New York for Executive Business Media, an international publishing firm, specializing in a wide variety of business-to-business, niche, specialty and targeted consumer magazines. In that job, Dave was editorial director of a hard-news monthly magazine covering the military that frequently uncovered government corruption and mismanagement. Stories he wrote or edited often led to congressional or governmental investigations and some were picked up by the national media, including the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite.

While packing to get back to Holland, I decided to take his book (805 pages!) with my hand luggage. True, It was heavy to carry it on during my eighteen hour trip from Austin, via Washington to Amsterdam. But I did not get bored one time, thanks to Dave's thoughtful interviews and insightful comments on the Pulitzer stories, valuable for every journalist.

Thank you, Dave!