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Podcasts can now win Pulitzer Prizes

The Pulitzer Prize Board is adding an experimental audio reporting award.

Podcasts like S-Town, Serial and Believed aren't just enthralling, they're also great examples of hard-hitting, in-depth reporting. With that in mind, the Pulitzer Prize Board is adding a new journalism prize category for audio reporting.

"The renaissance of audio journalism in recent years has given rise to an extraordinary array of non-fiction storytelling. To recognize the best of that work, the Pulitzer Board is launching an experimental category to honor it," said Pulitzer Administrator Dana Canedy.

The award will go to work "characterized by revelatory reporting and illuminating storytelling." It's meant for reporting that does some digging to expose wrongdoing, as well as dynamic features and news coverage of major issues or events.

Radio program and podcast producers in the US are invited to submit work, as long as it aired during 2019. That means favorites like Serial and S-Town are ineligible. Contenders might include the likes of In the Dark, To Live and Die in LA, Man in the Window, White Lies and other true-crime podcasts. Regardless of who wins, the new category speaks to the popularity of podcasts, particularly true crime.