When the Pulitzer Prizes were announced on Monday, there was a curious gap: No award was given for editorials. There were, of course, plenty of entrants. And there were three finalists. But in the end, the prize board didn’t name a winner.
Portfolio’s Jeff Bercovici had the clever idea to call up the three finalists and ask them what they made of the non-award. Their answers? A mix of confusion, pride, and disappointment.
But the most interesting response comes from Dallas Morning News editorial writer Rodger Jones:
Clint Hendler is the managing editor of Mother Jones, and a former deputy editor of CJR.“We would rather have seen somebody win it just to see that the craft of writing editorials for daily newspapers is essentially honored by the Pulitzer board,” says Jones, who successfully pushed for a measure mandating roll calls for votes on statewide legislation. “I would’ve been glad to have finished second or what have you. Our voices are out there trying to better our communities, and it would be nice to see some effort somewhere honored. It’s too bad they couldn’t come up with a winner.”
