Roy Harris is the master historian of the Pulitzer Prize. He has written the real inside story of the most serious journalism of the last century and provided a brilliant portrait of America. Know your journalism, and you will know your country and its values.
Bob Woodward, The Washington Post Pulitzer's Gold is a deeply researched, richly anecdotal and ... Read morefaithfully inspirational chronicle of how relentless journalists, over the last 100 years, have exposed a remarkable assortment of ills and abuses to make the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service the global standard for excellence. Again and again, Roy Harris's smooth story-behind-the-story technique underscores the indispensable role of journalists in a free society.
Sig Gissler, former administrator, The Pulitzer Prizes At a time when many lament a general decline in watchdog journalism, the centennial of the Pulitzer Prizes is a good time to reflect on the pivotal role the Pulitzer Gold Medal for Meritorious Public Service has played in both celebrating and encouraging public-interest journalism. There is nobody more equipped to tell a century of these riveting tales than Roy Harris Jr., as he takes us deep into some of the most engaging and impactful storytelling that has emerged from many great investigations and a continuing search for the truth.
Raju Narisetti, Senior Vice President, News Corp Harris' Pulitzer's Gold recalls some of this nation's best journalism and tells how the stories came to be. A reporter notices an unusual data point, newsrooms publish while storms rage or human threats abound, a journalist "writes like a poet, but (with) the skills of an investigative reporter." Each led to powerful news stories that improved communities. The book provides the lift we need today. It captures the passion of journalism and celebrates great works.
Karen B. Dunlap, Poynter Institute President Emerita Roy J. Harris Jr. has not only provided us with excellent examples of the stories that shape our world-from Watergate to 9/11 to the Catholic Church priest scandal to Hurricane Katrina to Walter Reed to Edward Snowden-he gives us context, including his illuminating interviews with the reporters and editors that produced the stories. It all makes for a riveting book and a primer for doing important journalism. Pulitzer's Gold is a must-read for anyone who cares about journalism or democracy, which should be all of us.
David Mindich, Professor at Saint Michael's College and Visiting scholar at New York University Noting that the 2009 and 2010 Pulitzer Prize medals for public service recognized the work of reporters who had yet to turn thirty, Roy Harris Jr. writes: "How inspiring...for the crowds of college students who still see journalism as a way to change society for the better." And how true that is, as well, for this second edition of Harris's book chronicling the history of the public service prize. Harris has done a thorough-going update of his work, adding numerous new case studies of the most recent prize-winning efforts. Using an array of material - from historical archives to oral histories to interviews with current-day practitioners - he provides narratives of all 103 medal winners with in-depth treatments of a couple dozen particularly momentous pieces of journalism that often worked to create change in society and, not incidentally, went on to win journalism's most prestigious prize. The result, for those aforementioned journalism students (and their teachers), is a virtual handbook on how to pursue the big stories. Equally important for those students as well as scholars interested in the place of journalism in society, the revised book will continue to serve as a valuable resource on the development of journalism as a profession and its intersection with institutional power in the twentieth century and beyond.
Gerry Lanosga, Indiana University The most profound truth Roy Harris has discovered is that the prize, while nice, is not the reward. The reward is the work itself: the incomparable feeling of getting up every morning knowing that your newspaper is waiting for you to go out and do the very best reporting you can. You can't put that kind of award on a shelf, but you can hold it in your heart. From Harris's meticulous account you'll sense that the real prize is one that great reporters everywhere receive in solitude in the silent moments before the presses roll.
Bob Greene, author of Late Edition: A Love Story At a time when the business model of the American newspaper lies broken, this book tells us, by vivid examples, why newspapers are essential to our national well-being. It is a sobering yet inspiring message.
John S. Carroll, former Los Angeles Times editor and 1993-2002 Pulitzer Prize Board member The depiction of the faith, strategy, and bankrolling that some stories require is masterful; the book is essential reading for aspiring and seasoned newshounds alike. Columbia Magazine Show Less