(2006-04-22) — For the fifth year in a row, the Pulitzer committee has announced it received no nominees for its journalism award in the “Named Sources, No Leaks, Non-Treason” category.

The news comes a day after the CIA fired a high-ranking officer for disclosing top-secret information to the Washington Post. The Justice Department is also investigating the leak of secret information about an NSA terrorist-monitoring program to The New York Times.

Each paper has recently parlayed intelligence leaks into Pulitzer-prize winning investigative pieces.

The Pulitzer Non-Treasonous Reporting prize recognizes journalists who ply their trade without jeopardizing U.S. national security, or relying on information from government agents who violate the law, or their own terms of employment.

Now in its fifth year, the prize has yet to be awarded, causing the prize money to swell to more than $50,000.