Pulitzer Board Names Poynter as Partner to Commemorate Pulitzer Prize Centennial

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., June 29, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pulitzer Prize Board, in honor of the 100-year anniversary of the Pulitzer Prizes, has selected the Poynter Institute to conduct a two-day event aimed at highlighting the historical achievements of journalists and others who produced Pulitzer Prize-winning work in the service of civil rights, social equality and democracy.

"The Voices of Social Justice and Equality" will be the first of four signature events commissioned by the Pulitzer Prizes in honor of its Centennial. Prominent writers, political figures and entertainers will travel to St. Petersburg, Florida, to take part in the celebration, which will be led by Roy Peter Clark, Poynter's vice president and senior scholar. The other three marquee events will be hosted by the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard, the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and the Dallas Morning News.

"Like the Pulitzer Prizes, the Poynter Institute is dedicated to the highest standards of journalism, and we welcome this partnership," said Paul Tash, chairman of the Poynter Institute and former chairman of the Pulitzer Prizes. "During the struggle for civil rights, brave writers and photographers revealed the ugly brutality of racial discrimination, earning journalism's greatest honor. But more important, their work nudged public officials and sentiment toward the American promise of equal opportunity. The program at Poynter next year will celebrate not only the centennial of the Pulitzers, but the power of great journalism to make a difference in democracy."

The main event will take place at the Palladium Theater on the evening of Thursday, March 31, 2016. Through photography, fine arts, live music and dance performances, the work of civil rights era Pulitzer Prize winners will be showcased.

The following day, Friday, April 1, 2016, Poynter teachers and invited experts will lead a series of workshops designed to enlighten and inspire the next generation of Pulitzer winners.

Tim Franklin, Poynter's president said, "The Pulitzer Prizes and The Poynter Institute share the mission of fostering journalistic excellence that improves our democracy. Poynter is honored to celebrate the Centennial of the Pulitzer Prizes and the seminal work of its recipients, who courageously used the power of their words and images to make America a more just society. As we've learned from recent events, the struggle for civil rights and equality is not over. So at the same time we honor the path-breaking work of the last century, we will seize this opportunity to explore a discussion about journalism's role in addressing inequality in the next century."

The Poynter Institute is centrally located in St. Petersburg's Innovation District and works closely with the city to support economic development. This event will help enrich culture and foster a deeper understanding of social justice issues for residents, according to the mayor's office.

"This is a momentous occasion for journalism and for the Sunshine City," said Mayor Rick Kriseman. "This event provides us with an opportunity to hear remarkable stories from an era that still shapes our policy and culture today. I think it is fitting that the Poynter Institute is serving as host. On behalf of our citizens, I welcome all participants to the City of St. Petersburg."

Added Deputy Mayor Dr. Kanika Tomalin, "I look forward to hearing from award-winning journalists who recorded and reported those voices during a critical time in our nation's history. Their work is marked by journalistic, moral, spiritual and even physical courage, and the stories they tell are worth remembering as the struggle for civil rights and equality continues. I thank the Poynter Institute for their role in ensuring that this is an event worth remembering."

All events related to the Pulitzer Centennial will be free and open to the public.  

About The Poynter Institute The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is a global leader in journalism education, and a strategy center that stands for uncompromising excellence in journalism, media and 21st century public discourse. Poynter faculty teach seminars and workshops at the Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., and at conferences and organizational sites around the world. Its e-learning division, News University, www.newsu.org, offers the world's largest online journalism curriculum in 7 languages, with more than 400 interactive courses and 330,000 registered users in more than 200 countries. The Institute's website, www.poynter.org, produces 24-hour coverage of news about media, ethics, technology, the business of news and the trends that currently define and redefine journalism news reporting. The world's top journalists and media innovators come to Poynter to learn and teach new generations of reporters, storytellers, media inventors, designers, visual journalists, documentarians and broadcast producers, and to build public awareness about journalism, media, the First Amendment and protected discourse that serves democracy and the public good.

Contact: Kim Tobin
Marketing Communications Strategy Manager
The Poynter Institute
[email protected]
727-553-4707

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SOURCE The Poynter Institute