Another Victory for Indies: Pro Publica Wins the Pulitzer

Pro Publica has done it again. Awarded to Jesse Eisinger and Jake Bernstein for their reports on how Wall Street bankers worsened the financial crises, this is the first time the award has ever gone to stories not published in print.

For proponents of online media, this is a great victory. It sends a message that we still need deep investigative journalism in a time when many traditional news organizations have cut back in those departments. It would not be surprising to see even more awards start going to online organizations as traditional media continues to face problems. I’m happy to see the Pulitzer going to such great and important work.

It’s also awesome to see Pro Publica thank those at Planet Money and This American Life who helped. I remember listening to their programs about Magnetar last spring while driving to or from school and being fascinated. It’s a partnership that I believe aided the storytelling of the pieces. With many business and money stories, it is sometimes hard to conceptualize the happenings into a narrative that can be followed by the average person, but it’s something This American Life and Planet Money both do quite well.

I am excited to see this news today and cannot wait to see what will happen next year. With another win, Pro Publica could become the unquestioned masters of investigative journalism for our modern age, if they aren’t there already.