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William Marion Reedy – 2006

William Marion Reedy is remembered today for his magazines, but few realize he began his writing career at the Missouri Republican and later worked for the Globe-Democrat where he wrote a weekly column called “Sunday in Forest Park.” A flamboyant and controversial figure, Reedy was to become one of the most successful literary entrepreneurs of his day. As editor of the weekly Mirror from 1891 to 1920, Reedy became the catalyst in breaking down the nation’s genteel literary tradition, developing a native poetry, and helping to form some fifty significant poets. The magazine, based in St. Louis, gave wide exposure to writers like Emily Dickinson, Stephen Crane, Ezra Pound, Edwin Arlington Robinson, Amy Lowell, Sara Teasdale, Carl Sandburg, and Vachel Lindsay.

Joseph Pulitzer II – 2009

Joseph Pulitzer II took the reigns of the Post-Dispatch in 1911 and ran it for the next 43 years. Under his oversight, the paper and its staffers acquired 11 Pulitzer Prizes. A perfectionist, he personally supervised every department of the paper, but his heart was in the editorial page. The Post was also a huge financial success. He eliminated competition from the Star-Times by purchasing the paper. When he turned 60, Pulitzer threw a huge party and invited all the paper’s employees – 1,152 people – and about 100 former employees.

He was proud to be an active newspaper man, and he once punched William Randolph Hearst for verbally attacking Joseph Pulitzer, Senior.

Joseph Pulitzer, Jr. – 2010

In preparation for the familial succession in the editor’s position at the Post-Dispatch, Joseph Pulitzer III, known as “Joseph Pulitzer, Jr.,” worked in every department of the paper’s news operation. As editor of the paper from 1955 to 1986 and chairman of Pulitzer Publishing until his death in 1993, he continued the Post’s crusading tradition by coming out early against the Vietnam War and making the decision to publish the Pentagon Papers. Joseph Jr. was chairman for 31 years of the board that awarded the Pulitzer Prizes. Upon retirement from the position, Pulitzer was honored by the board for his “extraordinary services to American journalism and letters.”

Joseph Pulitzer – 2006

Pulitzer emigrated from his birthplace in Hungary to New York in 1864 when he was 17. He settled in St. Louis and within four years was working for a German-language daily newspaper, the Westliche Post. He was elected to the Missouri State Assembly in 1869 as a Republican.  In 1872, Pulitzer purchased the Post for $3,000, and seven years later, he bought the St. Louis Dispatch for $2,700, merging the two papers into the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. It was here that Pulitzer developed his role as a champion of the common man with exposés and a hard-hitting populist approach. Branching out even more, Pulitzer purchased the New York World in 1882 and continued to achieve journalistic “firsts” including hiring the famous female investigative reporter Nellie Bly in 1887, and, in 1895, introducing the immensely popular comic The Yellow Kid, the first newspaper comic printed with color. The paper’s circulation grew from 15,000 to 600,000, making it the largest newspaper in the country. Pulitzer’s competition with Hearst in the New York market, particularly the coverage before and during the Spanish-American War, linked their names with the practice of  yellow journalism. Upon his death in 1911 Pulitzer left Columbia University $2 million in his will, specifying the money be used to establish the Pulitzer Prizes.

Joe Pollack – 2008

Pollack was a professional writer for more than 60 years. Being a newspaperman was a major part of a career that included 23 years as theater, film and restaurant critic for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, seven years as a sports writer for the St. Louis Globe Democrat, and 10 years as public relations director for the St. Louis Football Cardinals. Pollack also served as theater and film critic for KWMU (90.7 FM) and was a freelance writer and blogger, writing book reviews and articles about food, wine, travel and cultural topics for a variety of publications. He authored numerous books on St. Louis restaurants.

Mike Peters – 2007

After he graduated from Washington University, St. Louisan Mike Peters’ newspaper career began in the art department of the Chicago Daily News. Following military service, he landed at the Dayton Daily News in 1969, which became his platform for national syndication. He received a Pulitzer Prize in 1981 and is also the creator of the Mother Goose and Grimm comic strip, which was picked up by 800 papers worldwide. His political cartoons were syndicated to over 400 papers. He received the Sigma Delta Chi Distinguished Award for Political Cartooning and his work has been entered into the Library of Congress.