Is it time for an alternative to the Pulitzer Prize?

OPINION:

For over 100 years, one award has symbolized the epitome of excellence in journalism.

In the time since Joseph Pulitzer established his prize, the media landscape has changed, and so has the level of what those in the industry praise as outstanding achievement.

How would Pulitzer react today, seeing those whose duty is to report the truth fail to do so?

Trust in media continues to hover near record lows and shows little to no sign of improving. Many have lost faith in journalists to courageously report the facts — free of prejudice and political correctness.

Is it time for those who value truth and transparency to consider an alternative to the Pulitzer Prize?

Truth is something I have come to value greatly, having spent most of my adult life in China. There, for nearly 40 years, I worked to implement reforms through social and economic means. In the late 1990s, I became a successful entrepreneur and a reputable philanthropist, but my path forward wasn’t always easy.

Like many entrepreneurs, I experienced self-doubt, failure, anxiety and uncertainty in my personal and professional life. Struggling to see what was next, I decided to give up my business and volunteer roles in China and moved my family to the United States in 2016 to pursue the educational opportunity I wanted to give my children. That same year, I established a private charitable organization called the Dao Feng & Angela Foundation.

After relocating to America, I wanted to learn more about the history of the place I am blessed to call home. As a lifelong learner, I have spent countless nights studying the rise and fall of great civilizations exploring their religious, philosophical, economic and political histories.

Along this journey, I made the most important discovery of my lifetime — faith.

I learned that my deeply held beliefs were also pivotal in the founding of my new home, the United States. In China, morality and truth are subjective and relative, but our country was founded on Judeo-Christian values, which place the highest priority on our God-given rights.

When the pandemic occurred in 2020, it profoundly changed American society and the world. It also magnified another virus — the unmooring of fact from reality, of truth from lies.

That year, the Dao Feng and Angela Foundation invested $1 million to launch the “Life Preservation Initiative” project, dedicated to providing personal protective equipment to hospitals and communities in the early stages of the outbreak.

As our team worked to help save lives, I noticed a troubling trend beginning to gain steam. Freedom and equality — two bedrock principles that make our country the envy of the world — were being replaced by corrupted versions of “equity and justice.”

Those values, hijacked by groups who base their efforts on hatred and identity politics, threaten to uproot what we instinctively know to be true and right.

In 2022, I decided it was time to actively protect the principles of truth and the country I love. I began planning for the Dao Prize, an alternative to the Pulitzer Prize, which focuses on rewarding investigative journalism and striving to seek the truth, no matter where it may lead.

Too often, journalists are hailed as “champions of truth” while adhering to political correctness and a system that rewards compliance to a narrative instead of facts. They’re discouraged from tackling certain topics or contentious issues vital to our nation’s survival because doing so would be counter to certain ideologies.

My family has experienced the heartbreak and tragedy of a society that willfully chooses to ignore facts. If the United States is no longer a beacon of truth, if we instead embrace corrupt versions of equity and fairness, where will those who love freedom and liberty have to turn?

America is a shining city on a hill, and we must protect it for those who yearn for better lives, for an opportunity to experience the blessings of liberty. We do so by embracing what we know to be genuine, for as the Scriptures say, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

If America is to remain free, we need journalists who are willing to seek out truth, no matter the cost.

I hope the Dao Prize will recognize and support those who desire to safeguard our God-given rights and those spelled out in the Constitution — rule of law, equality, freedom of speech and religion. We want to encourage and empower brave journalists who reveal truth based on facts, not opinions. Who courageously hold those in power accountable, regardless of consequence.

To achieve this goal, our team has created a rigorous, open and fair process through which journalists’ work will be judged. The winner of the Dao Prize will be given $100,000, alongside two $10,000 awards for the runners-up. Perhaps just as importantly, they’ll receive the encouragement and recognition they so greatly deserve.

The Dao Prize hopes to be a spark that ignites a fire in journalists who will blaze a path toward the truth and, with it, a new era of investigative reporting.