Pulitzer logoCould a Minneapolis-based news site be the first ever to pick up a Pulitzer Prize? It may be a stretch, but in a post at Editor & Publisher today, Joe Strupp handicapped the prizes, positing that an online entrant is “likely to at least garner a finalist spot.” In the first year web-only news operations are eligible for the coveted awards, at least five online newsrooms — including the Minnesota Independent and MinnPost — have applied. MinnPost entered a columnist, plus “reports on segregated schools, the Franken-Coleman Senate election recount, female combat troops in Iraq, problems with the state attorney general’s office.” MnIndy entered our multimedia coverage of the Republican National Convention, and some of our sister sites in the Center for Independent Media network are in the running, too. (No local newspaper gets the nod from Strupp.)

Prizewinners and nominated finalists will be announced at 3 pm EST on April 20.