Pulitzer Prize Archives - The Minnesota Sun

Commentary: The New York Times Has a History of Being Fake News

May 20, 2024 Minnesota Sun Staff

The New York Times is widely regarded as the newspaper of record in the United States. Founded in 1851 to appeal to a cultured, intellectual readership rather than a mass audience, the Gray Lady has won a record-breaking 137 Pulitzer Prizes, including for its reporting on the infamous Pentagon Papers.

In times of sharp political polarization, however, the reputation of the Times, like many other outlets, has suffered significant damage. Arguably, much of this is self-inflicted, with the paper increasingly setting aside its iconic moniker “All the News That’s Fit to Print” in pursuit of activist journalism.

Blackout on Biden Corruption Allegations ‘Markings of a State Media,’ Top Law Professor Says

May 15, 2023 Just the News

The establishment media blackout on corruption within the Biden family is the sign of a state-run media even as stories on the issue could easily win journalism awards, George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley says.

Congressional Republicans unveiled evidence last week that nine members of the first family were allegedly receiving funds from figures in multiple foreign countries, but “the media is insisting that this is no scandal because there is not directly proof of payments to Joe Biden,” Turley wrote in an opinion article Friday for The Hill.

Trump Demands New York Times, Washington Post Be Stripped of Pulitzers for Russia Reporting

October 4, 2021October 4, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Former President Donald Trump asked the Pulitzer Prize committee on Sunday to strip awards to The Washington Post and The New York Times, arguing their award-winning stories in 2016 and 2017 alleging Russia collusion lacked “any credible evidence “

The newspapers’ reporting was “based on the false reporting of a non-existent link between the Kremlin and the Trump Campaign. The coverage was no more than a politically motivated farce,” Trump wrote in a letter to interim Pulitzer administrator Bud Kliment.

Trump noted that multiple investigations have dismissed any notion of collusion between his campaign and the Kremlin and that a recent indictment by Special Prosecutor John Durham traced some of the key allegations to people tied to Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Newt Gingrich Commentary: The Mind of a Writer

July 18, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Macbook pro with cup of black coffee and notepad next to it

The late Kurt Vonnegut had a simple yet profound approach to writing. “When I write,” he said, “I simply become what I seemingly must become.”

Stephen Hunter, another great American writer, has a similar approach to his craft today. His process isn’t so much about writing prose or creating plot or conducting research. What really matters, he says, is that the book becomes your life, always either on your mind or in your subconscious.

As Hunter explained to me this week on my podcast, “Newt’s World,” writing has become a part of his normal life, like brushing his teeth.

Commentary: Donald Trump’s Comments on the Virus, Elections Deem True

June 16, 2021June 16, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

On Saturday, June 12, former President Donald Trump released a statement that, in tone, will have his opponents rolling their eyes.

“I told you so,” they will say, because Donald Trump told them so and managed to get in a bit of signature Trump braggadocio along the way.

Under the legend “Statement by Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America,” this is what he wrote:

“Have you noticed that they are now admitting I was right about everything they lied about before the election?”

Reporter Gets Access to Michigan’s COVID Nursing Home Death Data

May 24, 2021May 23, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charlie LeDuff has reached a settlement with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to gain access to data on the number of COVID-19 nursing home deaths in the state.

The health department agreed to release some of the public records LeDuff requested. The department also acknowledges it can’t determine if some patients killed by COVID-19 contracted the virus at a nursing home or other long-term care facility.

LeDuff sued March 9 after submitting a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for data on COVID-19 deaths but the MDHHS failed to produce the requested records. The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation represented him.

“We stood up to Goliath and won,” LeDuff said in a statement. “While I’m pleased that some of the records were released, the state’s overall response is alarming and disappointing. Still, this is a win for the people of Michigan, and I’m glad this lawsuit was able to shed some light.”