Pulitzers Decline National Enquirer's Entry, But That's Just Tip of the Iceberg

[Commentary] If ever there was a story that put the vagaries of what constitutes the modern journalism business front and center it's this: the National Enquirer's decision to nominate its coverage of John Edwards affair and love-child with Rielle Hunter for a Pulitzer Prize.

It's a fascinating tale of journalism operating on two parallel tracks simultaneously and also a great example of how most industries cope when the sand is shifting around them — by pretending it's not. As Gawker points out, in the official media, coverage of John Edwards in 2008 was about his decision to eventually endorse Obama and his performance in the Iowa caucus; in the other, it was about his personal life. while there is no anachronism in furthering the cause of solid reporting, there is in limiting consideration for great reporting to only one part of the journalism machine, and this is where the Pulitzers, and the entire newspaper journalism community, need to wake up. Ironically, the story of tabloid journalists vs. ones at Respectable News Organizations is an old one; now the Internet has substantially expanded text-based journalism and commentary.