LOS ANGELES, April 18
LA Weekly critic, Jonathan Gold
has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Criticism, marking
the first time the Pulitzer Board has recognized a restaurant critic in the
category. Gold, who has written LA Weekly's nationally recognized Counter
Intelligence column since 1985, was singled out by the board for "his
zestful, wide ranging restaurant reviews, expressing the delight of an
erudite eater."
The Criticism award, one of 21 awards given by the Pulitzer board for
2006, comes with a $10,000 prize paid from a trust established by
journalism pioneer Joseph Pulitzer. Since its inception in 1917, the
Pulitzer Prize has been considered the Nation's top journalism award and
receives more than 2,400 entries each year. Submissions are assessed by 102
distinguished judges who make up 20 separate juries and are asked to make
three nominations in each of the 21 categories.
Jonathan Gold is a four-time James Beard Award winner, as well as the
recipient of numerous awards from the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, the Los Angeles Press Club and the Association of Food Journalists. Gold's Pulitzer win marks the first time that an LA Weekly columnist has been awarded the coveted Prize.
Editor-in-chief Laurie Ochoa commented, "This is a sweet victory on so many levels -- Jonathan started out here at the LA Weekly as a proofreader
and fairly quickly became one of the paper's most popular writers. He's had
several jobs at the Weekly over the years, from caption guru to editor of
some of our finest Best of LA issues -- he's really part of the fabric of
this place. As music editor, he wrote groundbreaking pieces about classical
music, heavy metal and the LA rap scene just as it was going national in
the late '80s. But restaurant criticism is where he really captured people's imagination in the city. It's gratifying that even after he established a national reputation with his work at the L.A. Times and Gourmet magazine, he's continued to call the Weekly home. We've always been acknowledged for the writing of our critics, so it makes sense that the paper's first Pulitzer would come in this category. I'm thrilled that the
Pulitzer judges recognized Jonathan's humor and deep understanding of both
Los Angeles and the way we all love to eat."
Publisher Beth Sestanovich added, "We are very honored to win our first
Pulitzer and very proud of Jonathan Gold who started his career at the LA
Weekly. The LA Weekly has long been a part of the fiber of this city covering both deep issues that affect LA as well as the cultural backdrop that makes Los Angeles the unique place that it is. Our criticism of the arts, music scene, film and of course, food and drink, has been
acknowledged by many other awards over the years and we are thrilled to add
a Pulitzer to that list."
LA Weekly, the nation's largest alternative newsweekly, delivers comprehensive news, culture, entertainment, and calendar listings every Thursday to readers throughout Los Angeles and on LAWeekly.com. In addition
to the Pulitzer, the paper received more than 20 awards and honors in 2006
for journalistic excellence.
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