PressEthic

The AP reported today that consideration for the biggest trophy in print journalism will now include online work.

Says Sig Gissler, Pulitzer administrator:

This reflects the growing importance of online content, but, at the same time, print remains very important, and I think the Pulitzer competition now reflects a blend of print and online, which is what most newspapers are seeking to achieve these days.

Hedging, I'd call it. Until now, no category but Public Service allowed online content, so clearly it's a big step. I'm assuming, though, that the good people of the uber-award don't mean this to be a dive into blogging or citizen journalism.

Gissler said entrance eligibility will continue to remain restricted to newspapers published 'daily, Sunday, or at least once a week during the calendar year.'

I certainly don't mean to imply this is a slippery slope. On the contrary-- it's about time! Giving newspapers nudge towards putting great content online, creating online story packages, and simply seeing what they can do with the medium will be great for print journalism.

Gissler makes it clear that the committee is not only interested in longer pieces, with speaks to their decision to be interested in web content, which is often. I wouldn't write off long web content though-- there's no end to the amount of time people will spend reading stories online from the secrecy of their work cubicle.