Comments on: The Enquirer/Pulitzer flap should inspire better investigative work; Cronkite School doing its part http://cronkite.asu.edu/mcguireblog/?p=156 Sat, 02 Jun 2012 20:51:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: There’s No Good Reason the National Enquirer Shouldn’t Win a Pulitzer Prize http://cronkite.asu.edu/mcguireblog/?p=156&cpage=1#comment-507 There’s No Good Reason the National Enquirer Shouldn’t Win a Pulitzer Prize Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://cronkite.asu.edu/mcguireblog/?p=156#comment-507 [...] No One Wins a Pulitzer for Something So Vulgar as a “Scoop” Arizona State University journalism professor Tim McGuire argues that “the Pulitzer is never awarded for ‘newsbreaks’ or scoops. Even in the [...] [...] No One Wins a Pulitzer for Something So Vulgar as a “Scoop” Arizona State University journalism professor Tim McGuire argues that “the Pulitzer is never awarded for ‘newsbreaks’ or scoops. Even in the [...]

]]> By: William Drummond http://cronkite.asu.edu/mcguireblog/?p=156&cpage=1#comment-505 William Drummond Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:55:35 +0000 http://cronkite.asu.edu/mcguireblog/?p=156#comment-505 I am a long-time Enquirer reader and admirer. I have taught a class in tabloid journalism here at UC Berkeley. The Enquirer deserved a Pulitzer a few years back when it exposed Rush Limbaugh's drug-dealing. This was another story that the legacy media never touched. But the main reason I read the Enquirer is that it writes about celebrities who are about to die, but are not quite there yet. Morbid? Maybe. Readable, yes. I would never have known that Raymond Burr was a death's door, unless the Enquirer told me. I got a chance to begin the grieving process while the subject was still alive. My colleagues mock the Enquirer, but when I would got to retrieve it from my mailbox, it would already have been smeared with the fingers of learned professors who had already read it! I am a long-time Enquirer reader and admirer. I have taught a class in tabloid journalism here at UC Berkeley.

The Enquirer deserved a Pulitzer a few years back when it exposed Rush Limbaugh’s drug-dealing. This was another story that the legacy media never touched.

But the main reason I read the Enquirer is that it writes about celebrities who are about to die, but are not quite there yet.

Morbid? Maybe. Readable, yes. I would never have known that Raymond Burr was a death’s door, unless the Enquirer told me. I got a chance to begin the grieving process while the subject was still alive.

My colleagues mock the Enquirer, but when I would got to retrieve it from my mailbox, it would already have been smeared with the fingers of learned professors who had already read it!

]]> By: Could National Enquirer’s Pulitzer quest inspire mainstream media? | The Editors’ Desk | STLtoday http://cronkite.asu.edu/mcguireblog/?p=156&cpage=1#comment-504 Could National Enquirer’s Pulitzer quest inspire mainstream media? | The Editors’ Desk | STLtoday Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:50:50 +0000 http://cronkite.asu.edu/mcguireblog/?p=156#comment-504 [...] Veteran journalist Tim McGuire says he would be shocked if the Enquirer wins. McGuire listed two reasons: One, I am convinced there will be bias in the jury room and on the board against that particular publication. The jury and the board occasionally like to do “roguish” things. This one would be way outside the boundaries. There’s no conspiracy there, just the reality. [...] [...] Veteran journalist Tim McGuire says he would be shocked if the Enquirer wins. McGuire listed two reasons: One, I am convinced there will be bias in the jury room and on the board against that particular publication. The jury and the board occasionally like to do “roguish” things. This one would be way outside the boundaries. There’s no conspiracy there, just the reality. [...]

]]> By: Susan Milligan http://cronkite.asu.edu/mcguireblog/?p=156&cpage=1#comment-502 Susan Milligan Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:02:45 +0000 http://cronkite.asu.edu/mcguireblog/?p=156#comment-502 I agree that teh fact it;s a magazine, the fact that the stories themselves were not well-written or textured, the fact that the Enquirer pays for information, and the fact that most of thes stories were written in 2008, not last year, makes the magazine undeserving of a Pulitzer for 2009 coverage. But more to the point, it's just not that important a story. it was a great scoop, a delicious piece of information, to be sure. But it's still not remotely as important as the political, war and economic stories of last year. A story that's fun to read and gossip about is not the same as a story that underscores the critical importance of an aggressive and independent press. I agree that teh fact it;s a magazine, the fact that the stories themselves were not well-written or textured, the fact that the Enquirer pays for information, and the fact that most of thes stories were written in 2008, not last year, makes the magazine undeserving of a Pulitzer for 2009 coverage. But more to the point, it’s just not that important a story. it was a great scoop, a delicious piece of information, to be sure. But it’s still not remotely as important as the political, war and economic stories of last year. A story that’s fun to read and gossip about is not the same as a story that underscores the critical importance of an aggressive and independent press.

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