Eyes Off The Prize

Spring is here. A time when a newspaper man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of Pulitzer Prizes. Yes folks, the Zodiac has once again come around and once again it's time to look to Jim, our vaunted Pulitzer Prize reporter, for his report on how the Minneapolis Star Tribune fared when the Pulitzer hardware was being passed out. (You can also read Jim's previous Pulitzer pieces from 2006, 2005, and 2004).

For the last couple of years we've had a bit of fun at the Star Tribune's expense when the Pulitzer Prizes have been announced, pointing out how many years it has been since their one (1) prize in 1990. I guess we all knew that the trend couldn't last forever. A large and politically correct newspaper like the Strib was bound to stumble upon a Pulitzer eventually. Although they've ruined our fun, we are big enough to extend our congratulations to the Star Tribune on their Pulitzer win this year. We are also forced to admit that their in-depth investigation into the "flying Imam" story is indeed worthy of the many accolades it has received.

Ha, ha, no. Had you going there for a second, I bet (at least until the "flying Imam" part anyway). No, of course the Star Tribune hasn't won a Pulitzer, and certainly not for their coverage of the flying Imams. For the seventeenth consecutive year, the Star Tribune has been found lacking by their peers (not even a single finalist this year). There is good news for former Strib editor Anders Gyllenhaal. His new paper, the Miami Herald, won the local reporting Pulitzer (for a series published several months before Gyllenhaal became editor). I hope the Herald savors that win.

Here is the list of newspapers with less circulation than the Star Tribune, but with more than the Strib's one Pulitzer. Congratulations to the Birmingham (Alabama) News for winning their second Pulitzer and moving past the Star Tribune.

Newsday (19)
Boston Globe (19)
Miami Herald (18)
Baltimore Sun (13)
Portland Oregonian (7)
Seattle Times (7)
Louisville Courier Journal (7)
St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times (6)
Christian Science Monitor (6)
Kansas City Star (6)
Sacramento Bee (5)
Des Moines Register (5)
New Orleans Times-Picayune (4)
Atlanta Journal and Constitution (4)
Lexington (Ky.) Herald Leader (3)
Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal (3)
St. Paul Pioneer Press (3)
Village Voice (3)
Birmingham (Ala.) News (2)
Hartford (Conn.) Courant (2)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (2)
Newark Star-Ledger (2)
Albuquerque Journal (2)
Arizona Republic (2)
Cleveland Plain Dealer (2)
Dayton (Ohio) Daily News (2)
Indianapolis Star (2)
Lawrence (Mass.) Eagle-Tribune (2)
Memphis Commercial Appeal (2)
Raleigh (N.C.) News and Observer (2)
Orange County Register (2)
Philadelphia Daily News (2)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (2)
Providence Journal-Bulletin (2)

Here is an updated list of the Star-Tribune's Pulitzer Peers. (However, all of these newspapers have won their Pulitzer more recently).

Ames (Ia.) Daily Tribune
Asbury Park Press, Neptune NJ
Biloxi (Ala.) Sun Herald
Boston Phoenix
Cincinnati Enquirer
Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald
Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune
* LA Weekly
Riverdale (N.Y.) Press
Rutland (Vt.) Herald
San Diego Union-Tribune
Santa Rosa (Calif.) Press Democrat
Toledo Blade
Virgin Islands Daily News (St. Thomas)
White Plains (N.Y.) Journal News
Willamette Week (Portland Oregon)

* New StarTribune Pulitzer Peer

Skunked again? If only there were some interesting stories around these parts...