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Week ending December 11, 2010

Pulitzer Prize Board Announces Changes for 2011 Journalism Competition - December 8, 2010
from Clare Oh Stausberg/Columbia University

The Pulitzer Prize Board today announced several changes to the journalism contest rules for 2011, spelling out the board’s interest in seeing entries in all the journalistic formats that news organizations use to generate impactful work.

The changes recognize the growing importance of visual storytelling using video and other multimedia formats and the board’s ongoing intention to honor the best journalism from eligible news organizations, regardless of format.

In the first change, the rules for 12 of the 14 categories now state explicitly that entries may use any available journalistic tool, including text reporting, videos, databases, multimedia or interactive presentations or any combination of those formats. The rules did not change for the two photography categories, which are restricted to still images.

In the 94 years since the prize was created, text -- and particularly ink-on-newsprint -- was the primary way newspapers delivered information. So the prizes have primarily gone to printed journalistic work.

As newspapers and other eligible news organizations increasingly use other methods to tell stories and reach readers, the Pulitzer Board has several times revised the rules so the contest evolves with the profession. For example, it has opened the doors beyond newspapers to online news organizations and opened all but the photography categories to work in multiple formats.

The change announced today places the emphasis on journalistic excellence across all formats and makes clear that submitting news organizations should enter work as their readers saw it -- if multimedia and visual elements were primary pieces of the work as published, they should be primary pieces of the Pulitzer entries.

Prize administrators also are doing several things to ensure the visual and multimedia work is viewed equally by jurors evaluating entries. For example: Those jurors will be asked to bring their laptops to the judging in March so they can more easily view multimedia and visual elements as they were seen originally by readers.

A second rule was changed to help encourage the broadest possible entries -- the number of individual names on a team entry was increased from three to five. The new language specifically says that the individuals named should be the strongest contributors to the work, “whether they are text reporters, photographers, videographers, graphic artists, producers or journalists who have worked in more than one format.”

If the work involves equal or near-equal contributions of more than five individuals, it should be submitted as an entry in the name of the submitting news organization.

A final change will make it easier for organizations to enter the two still photography categories. The board now requires that photographs be submitted electronically in the Breaking News and Feature photography categories, eliminating the requirement that organizations submit printed photos. Few eligible news organizations print photos on paper today; the images are chosen, edited, shared and often displayed digitally. Eliminating the need for costly printing makes it easier for news organizations to enter the photo categories and is consistent with the practices of other major photo prizes.

"These changes help ensure that in the multimedia age, the Pulitzer Prizes will continue to recognize the very best journalism in all formats,” said Pulitzer Board Co-Chairs David M. Kennedy and Amanda Bennett. Kennedy is the Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History Emeritus at Stanford University and Bennett is Executive Editor/Enterprise for Bloomberg News.

The deadline for journalism entries is Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2011. Entry forms, guidelines on preparing entries and other information can be found on the Pulitzer web site: www.Pulitzer.org.

EBU criticizes "dangerous initiative" to drop TV licence fee in Romania - December 6, 2010
from Albert Garnier/EBU

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the association of Europe’s public service broadcasters, today urged Romanian parliamentarians to withdraw or resist a “dangerous” proposal to abolish the country’s TV licence fee.

In a letter (follows below) to members of both houses of Romania’s Parliament, EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre said it was quite evident that proposals from the country’s opposition Social Democratic Party and Conservative Party for abolition of the fee – at less than €1 per month one of the lowest in Europe – would make it impossible for TVR to carry out its role.

“Economic crisis must not be used to undermine TVR's ability to fulfil its missions, according to European standards, to provide critical political and economic coverage, pluralistic information, and programmes that address issues of relevance to all citizens in a diverse society,” Ms Deltenre wrote. “Indeed, public service media are more important than ever when times are hard.”

Ms Deltenre recalled repeated statements by the European institutions that sustainably-funded public service broadcasters are vital to European societies and democracy. She also referred to a report adopted by the European Parliament on 25 November which reminded Member States of their commitment to European standards and of the need for public service media to have proportionate and stable funding. “In this context I do trust that, as responsible Parliamentarians, you will either withdraw or resist this dangerous initiative,” she said.

To: The Senate &
Chamber of Deputies
Parliament of Romania
Palatul Parlamentului,
str. Izvor nr. 2-4,
Bucharest
Romania

6 December 2010

Distinguished Parliamentarians,

I write as Director General of the European Broadcasting Union, the professional association of public service broadcasters in and around Europe.

Televiziunea Română (TVR), one of the EBU’s most important Members in Eastern Europe, has made me aware of a legislative initiative by the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and Conservative Party (PC) to abolish the TV licence fee. The initiative states that, in the current social and economic climate, there should be no obligation to pay for public service television. And that TVR’s own commercial activities could fully cover all expenses if there were a “coherent and stimulating management policy”.

Although the television licence fee, at less than €1 per month, is one of the lowest among our Members, it accounts for more than 80% of TVR’s income.

It is therefore quite evident that abolition of this fee would make it quite impossible for TVR to continue to operate its channels, to run its five regional studios or to offer its wider variety of much-appreciated services, including webcasts. There would be a drastic reduction in the volume and quality in every genre of programming - from news and current affairs to drama, from national culture and entertainment to sport. Irretrievable damage would be done to an organization that serves its country well on a relatively modest budget.

Economic crisis must not be used to undermine TVR's ability to fulfil its missions, according to European standards, to provide critical political and economic coverage, pluralistic information, and programmes that address issues of relevance to all citizens in a diverse society. Indeed, public service media are more important than ever when times are hard. As the Council of Europe and institutions of the European Union have stated repeatedly, sustainably-funded public service broadcasters are vital to European societies and democracy.

In September 2009, the European Parliament passed a Resolution that "public broadcasting services need to have the necessary resources and institutions to allow them to be genuinely independent of political pressures and market forces". And a Recommendation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe the same year called on national legislators to ensure that public service broadcasters have adequate long-term funding possibilities for fulfilling their mission.

Less than two weeks ago, on 25 November, the European Parliament adopted the so-called “Belet Report” which reminded Member States of their commitment to European standards and of the need for public service media to have proportionate and stable funding. The Parliament also called on Member states to ensure that there are sufficient resources to enable public service broadcasters to take advantage of the new digital technologies.

In this context I do trust that, as responsible Parliamentarians, you will either withdraw or resist this dangerous initiative.

Yours sincerely,

Ingrid Deltenre
Director General