2008 Woodie Awards
Washington Post wins six Pulitzers, among others
By: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: Nation
NEW YORK - Like many newspapers, The Washington Post is struggling mightily with falling circulation and advertising revenue. It's going through its third round of employee buyouts since 2003.
But cheers erupted Monday in the newsroom when staffers learned the newspaper had hauled in a near-record six Pulitzer Prizes, journalism's top awards.
"This is actually a boost to remind people that we can produce this kind of journalism at any time," said Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. "We're going to have a large enough newsroom to continue to produce this kind of quality journalism."
In the arts category, Pulitzer winners included Bob Dylan, who received an honorary Pulitzer Prize; Tracy Letts for his dark play, "August: Osage County;" and Junot Diaz, who won the fiction prize for his novel "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao."
Diaz, 39, worked for more than a decade on his first novel, a tragic but humorous story of desire, politics and violence among Dominicans at home and in the United States - "I spent most of the time on dead-ends and doubts," he told The Associated Press on Monday.
The Post was honored for its coverage of the Virginia Tech rampage, for exposing deplorable conditions at Walter Reed military hospital, and for revealing the enormous behind-the-scenes influence of Vice President Dick Cheney, among other projects.
In the always-fierce competition among major papers, The New York Times won two Pulitzers, for investigative reporting about toxic ingredients in medicine and other products imported from China, and one for explanatory reporting on ethical issues related to DNA testing.
Previously, the Post won as many as four Pulitzers in a single year, in 2006. The record is seven, won by the Times in 2002, mostly for its coverage of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Dylan's win marked the first time rock 'n' roll was honored by the Pulitzers, although several jazz musicians have won prizes and citations in the past.
The judges cited Dylan for his "profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."
Dylan continues to tour almost continuously and release highly regarded CDs. Fans, critics and academics have obsessed over his lyrics since the 1960s, when such protest anthems as "Blowin' in the Wind" made Dylan a poet and prophet for a rebellious generation.
But cheers erupted Monday in the newsroom when staffers learned the newspaper had hauled in a near-record six Pulitzer Prizes, journalism's top awards.
"This is actually a boost to remind people that we can produce this kind of journalism at any time," said Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. "We're going to have a large enough newsroom to continue to produce this kind of quality journalism."
In the arts category, Pulitzer winners included Bob Dylan, who received an honorary Pulitzer Prize; Tracy Letts for his dark play, "August: Osage County;" and Junot Diaz, who won the fiction prize for his novel "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao."
Diaz, 39, worked for more than a decade on his first novel, a tragic but humorous story of desire, politics and violence among Dominicans at home and in the United States - "I spent most of the time on dead-ends and doubts," he told The Associated Press on Monday.
The Post was honored for its coverage of the Virginia Tech rampage, for exposing deplorable conditions at Walter Reed military hospital, and for revealing the enormous behind-the-scenes influence of Vice President Dick Cheney, among other projects.
In the always-fierce competition among major papers, The New York Times won two Pulitzers, for investigative reporting about toxic ingredients in medicine and other products imported from China, and one for explanatory reporting on ethical issues related to DNA testing.
Previously, the Post won as many as four Pulitzers in a single year, in 2006. The record is seven, won by the Times in 2002, mostly for its coverage of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Dylan's win marked the first time rock 'n' roll was honored by the Pulitzers, although several jazz musicians have won prizes and citations in the past.
The judges cited Dylan for his "profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."
Dylan continues to tour almost continuously and release highly regarded CDs. Fans, critics and academics have obsessed over his lyrics since the 1960s, when such protest anthems as "Blowin' in the Wind" made Dylan a poet and prophet for a rebellious generation.
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