Topic: Where's my job? Where's my award?

[SockPuppet]

Two days after she was laid off from the Chicago Tribune, reporter Melissa Isaacson won the press club's Best Feature Story award. "By the time she made her way up front to accept her plaque it had disappeared," writes Michael Miner. "That's because [tribune managing editor Jane] Hirt had hopped up from the Tribune table next to the dais to claim it for the Tribune. Isaacson tells Miner: "My friends asked me later if I got to bask in any of the applause, but there was no basking. I had to go find my award."

http://blogs.chicagoreader.com/news-bites/2009/04/28/lisagors/

[Write-brained]

Good God almighty.

[mediaguy]

So would your paper mail you the award, or just send you an e-mail to say it'd be left at the front desk?

[ServeItUp]

I won an award at Paper A a couple of months after I moved on to another job. When I paid a visit to my former employer (it was a day's drive away and I was in town visiting old friends) later that year, there was a new managing editor in place, and he actually seemed offended when I asked if I could claim my award. "Hmm, my initial response is 'no' but email me about it in a couple of days," he said.

I never emailed and never lost any sleep about it. Small-paper MEs get territorial about this shit.

[mustangj17]

Dick move.

[jambalaya]

I won an award at Paper A a couple of months after I moved on to another job. When I paid a visit to my former employer (it was a day's drive away and I was in town visiting old friends) later that year, there was a new managing editor in place, and he actually seemed offended when I asked if I could claim my award. "Hmm, my initial response is 'no' but email me about it in a couple of days," he said.

I never emailed and never lost any sleep about it. Small-paper MEs get territorial about this shit.

My goodness, why would he want it? I presume it had your NAME on it, right? Gracious me.

[JBHawkEye]

Unbelievable. My guess is they would have never given it to Isaacson.

[waterytart]

Small-paper MEs get territorial about this shit.

Small MEs at big papers do too, apparently.

[goalmouth]

I covered the old Coty fashion awards the last year they were presented. There was a shortage of trophies/plaques, and people were jumping on stage to grab theirs before they were all taken.

[write then drink]

hey Jane Hirt ... go fuck thou self

it gets more unbelievable every day

[2muchcoffeeman]

Small-paper MEs get territorial about this shit.

As do publishers. Probably wouldn't have any proof of awards hanging on my wall except for the fact that we the staff arranged to distribute them as necessary behind the publisher's back a time or two. Whole lotta "I don't have mine, did you ask so-and-so" going on.

[Joe Williams]

hey Jane Hirt ... go fuck thou self

it gets more unbelievable every day

Who are these people and how much of their souls do they have left after selling the portions that got them the jobs they so cherish?

Congratulations, current top editors of the Chicago Tribune, you get to be the bosses who ruin more journalists' careers and produce worse newspapers than any of the folks who preceded you.

Nice feather in your career hat. That's why you got into this business, right? Your photos won't be hung on the walls at the Billy Goat, but you might be hung in effigy.

[forever_town]

The reporter I'd hired when I was at my old shop won a first place award in our regional press association some months after he'd left. I carried it in my car with me to make sure that I could give it to him. When I took my car in for service, the only thing I took out of that car was the award. Then I gave it to him when he returned to the office.

As if The Tribune weren't already being douchebaggy enough, this takes the fucking cake.

[BitterYoungMatador2]

At a previous job I was told we couldn't take them because they were property of the newspaper.

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

We get fancy 8x11 pieces of paper from the WVPA when we win awards.
If the paper wins an award (like best issue or section) they put in a plaque and hang it in the newsroom.
Any individual winners are given their "awards" to do with as they please.

[finishthehat]

Classless move. Although I know one radio station where management tried to keep THE CHECKS won by departed staffers in a contest.

But I've got to say, who keeps their awards? Unless it's the Pulitzer or something big -- do you really have these local press club knick-knacks collecting dust on one of your shelves?

[pseudo]

Small-paper MEs get territorial about this shit.

Small MEs at big papers do too, apparently.

Well played. Unlike Jane Hirt ...

[Joe Williams]

This appears on Romenesko's site under the item linking to the Chicago Reader blog:

> UPDATE: I asked Hirt if she wanted to respond to Miner's post. Her one-word e-mailed reply: "Nope."
> UPDATE II: Hirt says she's changed her mind and gives this response: "I do regret the awkward moment at the Lisagors. I didn't see Missy in the crowd, and I wanted to pick up the plaque to make sure she got it. When she arrived at the stage at the same time I did, I handed her the plaque. I wasn't planning on keeping it for the Tribune."

OK, I'll believe that she didn't intend to keep it -- why bother, what does the Tribune want with another wooden plaque? I also can believe that the editor took it on herself to grab up the award since she figured Isaacson probably wouldn't be in attendance. Having just been, y'know, dumped by her newspaper. 

But I wouldn't be surprised if there was a little extra spring in Hirt's step in grabbing the plaque to move the proceedings along and not prolong a moment focused on a freshly laid-off Tribune journalist.

(Props to Romenesko, too, the Update I and Update II format for transparency's sake.)

[slappy4428]

Small-paper MEs get territorial about this shit.

Small MEs at big papers do too, apparently.

ZING!

[Taylee]

Couple years back, our paper won an advertising award for best new idea, which was mine and involved sports, and Sales Director called me to tell me it won $500. Great, we'll split it. She laughed and hung up on me.
Two years later, we won same award, again the idea came from me and involved sports, new Sales Director called and told me to come get the $500 because it was our dept.'s to do as we pleased. It paid our softball entry fee and two cases of beer each week during the season. Money well spent.

[Fredrick]

Total lack of class by the Tribune higher-up. When she saw Melissa she should have pounced up and waved her over and given her the fucking award. You all get on me for blasting higher ups. You tell me that 80 percent of them or more are not classless trashbags. This proves it again. Classless move, Tribune ME.

[MU_was_not_so_hard]

Won a Scripps award that me and two other guys had published during my next to last week at one of the aforementioned chain's papers.
Got an email from the boss man telling me we had won, with no mention of the cash prize that came along with it. Thankfully, I was good friends with the other two guys and they each cut me a check for my share of the money.

[txsportsscribe]

bastard publisher at my last stop tried to say i couldn't take my plaques with me when i left because they belonged to the newspaper. just showed how small he is. one of my former reporters was going to steal them for me until i finally did manage to get my hands on them.

on the up side, that publisher was shown the door earlier this month. they played it off as "leaving to pursue other business opportunities" but everyone could read between the lines.

[DanOregon]

It's great inspiration to "the troops" when they see a bunch of awards on a newspaper's walls, and don't see any of the names of current coworkers on those awards. Message: we don't care if you win awards, we still won't value you enough to keep you.

[ServeItUp]

DanO, interesting you mention that. The year I won my state award at Paper A, something like three of the award winners had moved on. The story in Paper A the next day quoted the ME (not the one who wouldn't let me have my plaque) as saying, "We knew these people were rising stars when we hired them so it's no surprise they've gone on to make their mark elsewhere."

Let's see, the photog took a job at his hometown paper for a lateral move, the other sports guy quit to try his hand at freelancing because he got tired of the BS there, and I jumped ship because I was denied the opportunity to interview for an opening within the company but higher on the chain. And yes, BYM, they kept the plaque because the ME at the time felt it was property of the paper.

'Tart, nice shot.