History of Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism

Joseph Pulitzer was born in Mako, Hungary, on April 10, 1847.  He grew up in Budapest and was educated in private schools. He wanted to enlist in the Austrian Army, but his attempts failed because of his weak eyesight and unstable health. However, he did have military involvement when he enlisted as a substitute for a draftee permitted under the Civil War draft system. 

Pulitzer started to rise in notoriety at age 25.  In 1878, he became the owner of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Later, in 1883, Pulitzer bought The New York World newspaper.   

Pulitzer was a publisher and American journalist known for many things, including creating a contentious style of journalism with newspaper publisher and American businessman William Randolph Hearst.  Pulitzer supported organized labor, exposed political corruption and the attack of trusts and monopolies.  And because of this, controversy was created and Pulitzer sought to raise the standards of journalism.  When people hear the last name Pulitzer, their mind instantly thinks of the award in journalism, and it is that award that Pulitzer is most known for.

In regard to the history of Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism, pieces that expose corruption are often the ones crowned with the Pulitzer Prize.  Over time, the categories of entry have been broadened, allowing media from more types of platforms beyond print.  Some examples are online-only news outlets and music recordings.

Some of Pulitzer's first jobs were in St. Louis, Missouri. Some of those jobs included a mule tender, waiter, and hack driver before he went on to study English. In 1868, he was recruited by Carl Schurz for his daily paper, the Westliche Post, which was published in German. He then married Kate Davis, a niece of an American politician, Jefferson Davis. And in that same year he acquired the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in which he would publish investigative articles and editorials that targeted government corruption, wealthy tax-dodgers, and gamblers. His approach allowed him to purchase New York World for an estimated $300,000 in which he promised to use the paper exclusively to expose fraud, fight public evils and abuses and fight for the people with sincerity. He even included cartoons created by Richard F. Outcault which depicted "life in the slums."

The papers became extremely popular and sales reached $600,000, making it the largest circulating newspaper in the country at the time. He also worked with investigative writers as he published articles about labor conditions and poverty housing in New York City. Pulitzer's name became associated with the term "yellow journalism" after Hearst had purchased the New York Journal which created great tension which happened before and during the Spanish-American war. 

Then in 1892, Pulitzer offered Columbia University money to set up the country's first school of journalism which was turned down.  In 1902, Columbia's new president, Nicholas Murray Butler, had a different response to the offer.  However, nothing would come of it until after Pulitzer's death. Joseph Pulitzer died in 1911.

Pulitzer left the university $2 million in his will, which led to the creation of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1912.Today, Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism is one of the most prestigious schools in the world.  The first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded in 1917 and more than 2,000 entries are submitted each year but only 21 awards are presented.

It's safe to say that Joseph Pulitzer was instrumental in the development of journalism.