By JENNA JOHNSON<\/p>\n
In January, the Pulitzer nomination of The Washington Post<\/em> and the U.S. edition of The Guardian<\/em> for their reports on Edward Snowden and the NSA leaks caused a controversy. But Monday, the two news organizations actually took home the 2014 Pulitzer award for public service.<\/p>\n The Pulitzer board said The Post<\/em> and The Guardian<\/em> U.S. were awarded the prize for \u201cauthoritative and insightful reports that helped the public understand how the disclosures fit into the larger framework of national security.\u201d<\/p>\n The Pulitzer Prize is one of the most prestigious and sought-after awards in journalism, literature and photography. Not only is expert reporting and writing involved for journalism, but the story must also be something that matters<\/i>.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve noticed there is often a discrepancy between stories considered newsworthy and stories that actually matter. For example, CNN.com usually has a few trending topics, most of them national or global topics that are indeed relevant for a few days. Then there are a few feature stories, usually more lighthearted but have that bizarre element to them that makes them newsworthy.<\/p>\n There are also those random stories about the latest developments in a celebrity\u2019s private life that in my opinion really shouldn\u2019t be trending on CNN. Because that kind of story begs the question\u2026<\/p>\n Who cares? Does it matter? Maybe. But does it really<\/i>?<\/p>\n I don’t care, personally, but I realize that a lot of the nation does<\/i> care and, in the end, that will likely determine what is newsworthy. Whatever gets hits on the page, or eyes glued to the TV screen.<\/p>\n This is another reason why it is not at all typical to see celebrity gossip on a website for a print newspaper like The New York Times<\/em> or The Washington Post<\/em>. They\u2019re trying to focus on stories that have lasting impacts, while CNN is trying to capture the viewership of society on television. Thus is born the divide between print and television journalism. I\u2019m not trying to say that either one of them is wrong or that one of them is more entertaining.<\/p>\n I\u2019m just saying that a television news website probably won\u2019t win a Pulitzer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By JENNA JOHNSON In January, the Pulitzer nomination of The Washington Post and the U.S. edition of The Guardian for their reports on Edward Snowden and the NSA leaks caused a controversy. But Monday, the two news organizations actually took … Continue reading