If you ever get into The Washington Post building, pay attention to it: air is still, no sounds at all. Just the sounds of your footsteps. There’s a sense of respect inside; the atmosphere is respectful. It seems more like a sanctuary than a newsroom. How could it be possible?
It’s not magic. It’s a winning formula: Principles and ability to keep it for almost a century. The Post was founded in 1876, and the principles were established in 1935. You don’t win 76 Pulitzer prizes by accident. The Post won its first Pulitzer in 1936.
The Washington Post building
How does it work
Winning a Pulitzer Prize is considered the peak of journalistic achievement, a recognition for individual and media organizations. But also an institutional certificate of values and journalistic rigour.
According to the Pulitzer organization: “It is left up to the nominating juries and the Pulitzer Prize Board to determine exactly what makes a work ‘distinguished’.”
And it’s not easy to be distinguished, especially with a global audience and being part of one of the most competitive markets in the world.
There are 23 categories across journalism, books, drama and music. There are 15 categories for journalism. The most prestigious one is the “Public Service” category. In all categories except Illustrated Reporting and Commentary and the Photography categories, the Pulitzer’s Board seeks a high quality of writing and original reporting and, in all categories, journalistic excellence across all formats, in print or online or both.
In 2024, The Washington Post was awarded with three Pulitzer Prizes.
A practical guide to the Pulitzer Price
Pulitzer-winning journalism requires principles. The Washington Post gave itself principles in 1935. The publisher at the time, Eugene Meyer wrote them. They are displayed in brass linotype letters at the entrance to the newsroom:
- The first mission of a newspaper is to tell the truth as nearly as the truth may be ascertained;
- The newspaper shall tell all the truth so far as it can learn it, concerning the important affairs of America and the world;
- As a disseminator of the news, the paper shall observe the decencies that are obligatory upon a private gentleman;
- What it prints shall be fit reading for the young as well as for the old;
- The newspaper’s duty is to its readers and to the public at large, and not to the private interests of its owners,
- In the pursuit of truth, the newspaper shall be prepared to make sacrifices of its material fortunes, if such course be necessary for the public good;
- The newspaper shall not be the ally of any special interest, but shall be fair and free and wholesome in its outlook on public affairs and public men.
One year later, in 1936, The Post won its first Pulitzer Prize. A coincidence? Maybe. Anyway, those seven principles define what The Washington Post is for journalism in the world. From the Pentagon Papers, Watergate, to their recent coverage of government mismanagement during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Post’s reporters have never hid from stories that could challenge institutions.
This is what we called “Public service.” By focusing on issues of national and global importance – like climate change, racial inequality and economic disparity – the paper produces journalism that goes beyond the news cycle.
A cornerstone of building public trust is editorial independence, which The Post consistently proves to have. In The Post newsroom we saw a wall with all the Pulitzer Prizes printed on it since the first won in 1936. I am sure they will need more space.
The wall with all the Pulitzer Prizes won by The Washington Post
Now, as many media companies globally struggle to find sustainable business models, news consumers often are most – sometimes only – willing to pay for a recognizable and trusted journalistic brand. And the best business model could be one from 1935.
