There's no biz like news biz

The 2011 Pulitzer Prizes for journalism were announced today. Each year, the prestigious awards are roundly criticized (typically by those who didn't win one). They say most journos have little chance at winning a prize since the Pulitzer is generally awarded to those working at top-tier newspapers. Though the annual complaints are overwrought, they are not completely without merit. In 1984, Wall Street Journal columnist Alexander Cockburn famously said that, like show business, the Pulitzer is a "self-validating ritual whereby journalists give each other prizes and then boast to the public about them."