Pulitzer doc trailblazing prowess of immigrant scribe
Caribbean L BQ ife, April 5–11, 2019 11
Only the very best, most
astute practitioners of journalism
are afforded the Pulitzer
Prize. Named for Joseph
Pulitzer, a Jewish immigrant
from Hungary who established
an endowment at Columbia
University to recognize excellence
in journalism and the
Columbia School of Journalism,
since 1917 only the mostworthy
are rewarded the prestigious
prize.
However, after seeing a soonto
be-released document titled
“Joseph Pulitzer: Voice of the
People” it appears no one nears
the bar Joseph Pulitzer set when
he embarked on a career to set
the record straight in identifying
yellow journalism and in the
process reformed a free press.
In a documentary directed
by Oren Rudavsky, narrated
by Adam Driver and voiced as
Pulitzer by Liev Schreiver as
part of the American Masters
series, the revealing biography
provides evidence that fake
news was always a phenomena.
Pulitzer despised the practice
and dedicated his life to
countering yellow journalism,
gossip, and unverifiable information.
Most known facts about the
do-gooder are that Pulitzer
published the St. Louis Post
and Dispatch and later the New
York World. That while here in
the city he rivalled the empire
William Randolph Hearst’s
established by publishing one
million copies of his newspaper
each and every day.
Rudavsky’s testament states
that Pulitzer was first a Republican
but quickly abandoned
the party to declare himself a
Democrat.
Using that political platform
he ran for public office and
was elected a New York Congressman.
He crusaded against
big business, corruption and is
credited with leading a campaign
to properly display the
Statue of Liberty, which was
gifted by the France without a
pedestal or mount.
Lesser promoted is the
fact Pulitzer publicly shamed
President Theodore Roosevelt
by accusing him of paying off
the French in order to win
the rights to build the Panama
Canal. Pulitzer charged
the president with giving them
$40,000,000.
He ran numerous stories to
prove his claim and although
Roosevelt sued him for libel,
a judge dismissed the case
against Pulitzer.
Pulitzer effectively used his
newspapers to empower the
voiceless majority of Americans.
How he forged his ideal is wonderfully
revealed through documented
clips from his birth to
arriving in the USA, induction
in the US Navy, reporting and
editing at newspapers, acquisition
of his first purchase, his
marriage, his relentless pursuit
of investigative journalism, etc.
How he tackled discrimination,
integrated diversity with
coverage, exposed corruption
and dedicated his entire life
to the field of journalism provides
more than fodder but adds
admiration to his character.
By the way, reportedly, one
of his endearing past-times was
to walk along the Coney Island
boardwalk in Brooklyn with his
family.
“Beloved” Toni
Morrison — A Pulitzer
Winner Gets “Pieces”
Novelist Toni Morrison who
penned “Beloved” a book that
won her a Nobel Prize in literature
in 1993 and also placed her
as the first African American to
claim the distinction is now the
subject of a documentary due
in June.
Titled “Toni Morrison: “The
Pieces That I Am,” until its
release later this year, this
insider is not at liberty to disclose
the testimonies that
endorse her acclaim and those
that named her the 1988 winner
of a Pulitzer Prize.
Suffice it to say that Morrison
is more than “Beloved,”
the book that was made an epic
film starring Danny Glover and
Oprah Winfrey.
Catch You on The Inside!
Toni Morrison.
Inside Life
By Vinette K. Pryce
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