William J. Dorvillier
Encyclopedia
William J. Dorvillier, born in Massachusetts in 1908, was the 1961 recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing
. The publisher and editor of then 18-month old and now defunct The San Juan Star
, he wrote 20 stinging editorials criticizing the Catholic Church's interference with the 1960 general elections in Puerto Rico, where 90% of the population was Roman Catholic.
Dorvillier's editorials produced a response from Puerto Rico's Roman Catholic Diocesan Bishop James Edward MacManus, which The San Juan Star published in its entirety.
Until it ceased publishing in the summer of 2008, the Star was the only Pulitzer Prize-winning publication in Puerto Rico and while every one of its Spanish-language competitors in 1961 were long gone, it continued publishing for 47 years.
Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing
The Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing has been awarded since 1917 for distinguished editorial writing, the test of excellence being clearness of style, moral purpose, sound reasoning, and power to influence public opinion in what the writer conceives to be the right direction...
. The publisher and editor of then 18-month old and now defunct The San Juan Star
The San Juan Star
The now-defunct The San Juan Star was an English-language, Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The newspaper was published by Star Media Network, a subdivision of San Juan Star, Inc., which once owned San Juan City Magazine, El Mayagüez Star, and El Ponce Star.The...
, he wrote 20 stinging editorials criticizing the Catholic Church's interference with the 1960 general elections in Puerto Rico, where 90% of the population was Roman Catholic.
Dorvillier's editorials produced a response from Puerto Rico's Roman Catholic Diocesan Bishop James Edward MacManus, which The San Juan Star published in its entirety.
Until it ceased publishing in the summer of 2008, the Star was the only Pulitzer Prize-winning publication in Puerto Rico and while every one of its Spanish-language competitors in 1961 were long gone, it continued publishing for 47 years.