Guardian Reader’s Editor: How the Guardian won the Pulitzer prize

[unhappycamper]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/04/20/guardian-readers-editor-how-the-guardian-won-the-pulitzer-prize/



Guardian Reader’s Editor: How the Guardian won the Pulitzer prize
By The Guardian
Sunday, April 20, 2014 17:13 EDT

The last column about the Guardian’s stories of surveillance by the NSA and GCHQ on 23 September 2013 was three months after the first of the series. The reason I waited to write was to allow the dust to settle a little.

That autumn the Guardian was fighting a tough battle in the UK. The bulk of the press had lined up with the government to accuse the Guardian of arrogance or treason in publishing these stories, based on tens of thousands of secret documents disclosed by the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Much dust has now settled – if not the final specks. It has been an extraordinary few weeks and while this column usually concentrates on the Guardian’s errors, it would be a little odd not to revisit the Snowden story after the Guardian has won the Pulitzer prize. Yes, the Pulitzer prize, shared with the Washington Post.

Why was the Guardian eligible for a set of prizes that have been running in the US since 1917 and are probably the world’s most sought-after awards for journalism – not to mention letters and music? This is part of the covering letter to the organisers from the Guardian: “The Guardian US was established in 2011 to cover US and international news for an American audience. As a New York-based company – incorporated in the US as Guardian News and Media LLC – we maintain a growing and largely autonomous editorial presence with a US staff of 60, a bureau in DC and reporters across the nation. The newsroom produces news articles, opinion, live-blogs and interactive and multimedia content that reaches over 20 million online US readers each month. The series of NSA stories – enclosed for consideration – were reported, edited and published by Guardian US staff.”

Therein also lies the reason that the Guardian was able to publish the entire series of stories about the Snowden revelations.