Public radio in the United States was created after the passing of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. The first public broadcasting station was NPR (founded in 1970), which is still on the forefront of public radio. Public broadcasting is unique because its mission is public service, and it is non-profit. As president Lyndon B. Johnson said: "While we work every day to produce new goods and create new wealth, we want most of all to enrich man's spirit. That is the purpose of this act." In regards to public service, public radio broadcasting aims to use the radio as a tool to encourage the growth and development of public radio and television broadcasting, including the use of such media for instructional, educational, and cultural purposes. Public radio stations fulfill this by providing news, music and talk shows for the public. NPR alone has 14 news programs, five arts and life programs, and 8 music programs. Public radio ranges from serious to silly, including the variety show "A Prairie Home Companion" (distributed to over 500 public radio stations), news discussions on "Talk of the Nation", and everything in between.
Since its inception, there have grown to be 1,460 public radio stations in the United States. While most of these stations are run by universities and public authorities, the programs mainly come from NPR and PBS. Some public radio stations in Washington D.C. are WAMU, run by American University, WSCP, run by C-SPAN and WCUA, run by the Catholic University of America. All of them cover more or less the same three topics: news, entertainment/culture and education.
As we move to a more tech-oriented world, we might wonder what will happen to radio, and public radio specifically. While it might seem that public radio is at a disadvantage due to the fact that it mainly relies on listener contributions in order to keep running, it is also very high quality and trusted radio. It is held to higher standards than commercial radio stations and doesn't have annoying commercials.
Beyond this, the major public radio stations have up-to-date websites with news articles, videos, interviews and more. You can even listen to the programs from your computer if you don't have a radio. On American Public Media's website you can click to listen to podcasts of their programs. These stations have also expanded to include other forms of media. For example, above is of one of the videos NPR has on YouTube. It is an amusing video called "The Astronaut's Guide to Life in Space" and is just one of the many videos you can find on NPR's YouTube page. I believe the future of public radio lies in this integration of radio broadcasting and the internet. While people like me might just enjoy listening to top hits in the car, I know I can come to NPR online for pertinent and relatively unbiased news, as well as other interesting science and entertainment information. Public radio is succeeding in making itself accessible, and I believe this is why it remains relevant today.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
The Pulitzer Prize: 100 Years of Greatness in Writing
The Pulitzer Prize is an award given to pieces of writing, specifically in literature, online and newspaper journalism, and musical composition. It originated when Joseph Pulitzer, a newspaper publisher, gave money to Columbia University in order to start a journalism school as well as the prize. The first prizes were awarded in 1917, after his death in 1911. They are now awarded each year in April of each year.
Over the nearly 100 years since the Pulitzer's inception, many categories have been added, discontinued and merged. There are currently 21 categories for prizes, including national and international reporting, poetry, drama and public service. Recently added prize categories are beat reporting and local reporting in 2007, and spot news photography and breaking news photography in 2000. In 2008, it was mentioned that online-only content was being considered as an addition.
The award process differs from many other awards in that one must enter (and pay a $50 fee) their work to the committee for review, the committee will not automatically consider all works in the media. Entries must be made in a maximum of two specific categories. There are 20 juries on the Pulitzer Prize, with 120 judges selected each year. Most juries consist of five judges, although some categories have seven judges. There are three entries nominated by the jury within each category, with the winners being selected by majority vote by the board from the nominations, or by a 75% vote in the case of non-nomination submissions. Nominated finalists are announced along with the winners each year.
In addition to the judges, there is a board made up of 19 members, primarily newspaper editors and executives, although it also includes the president of Columbia University as well as the dean of the college of journalism. However, these two members cannot vote. The board elects its own members and each year the chair is given to the most senior member.
One notable winner of the Pulitzer Prize is John F. Kennedy in the biography category, for his 1955 work: Profiles in Courage. His work outlined acts of integrity and courage done by eight different United States senators, with actions including crossing party lines and rebuffing the opinions of their constituents in defense of what they believed was right. These senators suffered severe criticism and loss in popularity due to their noble actions, and Kennedy's work celebrated their bravery. The book was widely popular and quickly became a best seller, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1957.
One recent Pulitzer winner is Raquel Rutledge, who won the 2010 prize for local reporting. She won specifically for her work in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel where she wrote "penetrating reports on the fraud and abuse in a child-care program for low-wage working parents that fleeced taxpayers and imperiled children, resulting in a state and federal crackdown on providers." This marked the second time in three years that Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has earned a Pulitzer for local reporting. The specific work recognized, "Cashing in on Kids", lay bare the negligence of the state in its taxpayer-funded childcare system and the crime and fraud found therein.
While the Pulitzer Prize has been criticized for its alleged liberal-leaning bias, winning it is still regarded as an important achievement, putting finalists in the ranks of great writers such as John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, Roger Ebert, Alice Walker and Cormac McCarthy.
Over the nearly 100 years since the Pulitzer's inception, many categories have been added, discontinued and merged. There are currently 21 categories for prizes, including national and international reporting, poetry, drama and public service. Recently added prize categories are beat reporting and local reporting in 2007, and spot news photography and breaking news photography in 2000. In 2008, it was mentioned that online-only content was being considered as an addition.
The award process differs from many other awards in that one must enter (and pay a $50 fee) their work to the committee for review, the committee will not automatically consider all works in the media. Entries must be made in a maximum of two specific categories. There are 20 juries on the Pulitzer Prize, with 120 judges selected each year. Most juries consist of five judges, although some categories have seven judges. There are three entries nominated by the jury within each category, with the winners being selected by majority vote by the board from the nominations, or by a 75% vote in the case of non-nomination submissions. Nominated finalists are announced along with the winners each year.
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| The front of the Pulitzer Prize medallion |
One notable winner of the Pulitzer Prize is John F. Kennedy in the biography category, for his 1955 work: Profiles in Courage. His work outlined acts of integrity and courage done by eight different United States senators, with actions including crossing party lines and rebuffing the opinions of their constituents in defense of what they believed was right. These senators suffered severe criticism and loss in popularity due to their noble actions, and Kennedy's work celebrated their bravery. The book was widely popular and quickly became a best seller, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1957.
One recent Pulitzer winner is Raquel Rutledge, who won the 2010 prize for local reporting. She won specifically for her work in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel where she wrote "penetrating reports on the fraud and abuse in a child-care program for low-wage working parents that fleeced taxpayers and imperiled children, resulting in a state and federal crackdown on providers." This marked the second time in three years that Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has earned a Pulitzer for local reporting. The specific work recognized, "Cashing in on Kids", lay bare the negligence of the state in its taxpayer-funded childcare system and the crime and fraud found therein.
While the Pulitzer Prize has been criticized for its alleged liberal-leaning bias, winning it is still regarded as an important achievement, putting finalists in the ranks of great writers such as John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, Roger Ebert, Alice Walker and Cormac McCarthy.
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