Could Arrington be in line?

Pulitzer Prizes for journalism — bestowed upon the "best" American newspaper reporters and commentators — are now open for submissions from web-only news outlets.

Deadlines for the 2009 prizes, which cover work completed in 2008, is Feb. 1. Winners will be announced in April.

Administered by Columbia University, the Pulitzers began accepting print newspapers’ online material in 2006 in two breaking news categories. However, this year marks the first time it will consider online news entries for all 14 journalism awards, from international reporting to criticism.

Consideration will not be limited to the online domains of print newspapers. Online-only publications are also eligible, provided they publish at least once a week and be "primarily dedicated to original news reporting and coverage of ongoing stories," writes the New York Times.

Eligibility is discussed on a case-by-case basis, said Sig Gissler, the administrator of the prizes. But it's generally accepted that sites focused on aggregated news or that post commentary are not eligible; nor are print magazines, TV stations and their websites.

For a Q&A provided by Gissler, see Editor & Publisher's article.

Two-thirds of Americans (67%) surveyed in March felt traditional journalism is out of touch with what they want from news, and nearly half (48%) cited the internet as the top source of news.

Americans increasingly also trust news websites more than traditional media sources. Nearly one-third (32%) said internet sites are their most trusted source for news and information, followed by newspapers (22%), television (21%) and radio (15%).