Explain Awards to Me. Seriously.

Not with a serious drinking problem and a "CAN DO!" attitude.

 

Yeah, those things are a total joke. And totally, totally different than a writing contest citation.

 

And his BS that hasn't exactly helped our profession is Exhibit A on how being an "award-winning writer" can be the most overrated thing going.

 

One of the main reasons I want to win awards is so I can use "award winning journalist" when I introduce myself to people.

Hi, Eric Stratton, Rush chairman, damn glad to meet you.
Jeremy Goodwin, award winning journalist, damn glad to meet you.

 

Except, well, uh ... Mitch didn't win this year.

 

At least there's some justice.

 

Of which he has neither. After being fired the first time, he spent the next two weeks on the golf course. Why? Not to blow off some steam. It was because he didn't have the balls to tell his wife he had been fired.

 

I had a similar story... Early in my career I was doing an ongoing diary with an athlete who was expected to be a major Division I hoops star... I went to his house once a week and sat down with him for an hour...

A few months in, his mom was diagnosed with a fatal disease. I wrote an 80-inch story about it where the family gave me unbelievable access. Because of the diary, they trusted me, so I went with them to the oncology center where she was and told me everything...

It was one of the best things I've ever written, but it fell into my lap. I won all kinds of awards for it and it changed my career as well... I went from covering preps to pro sports almost overnight...

SF is right... You win the right award, it can change your career...

 

The first time I got an APSE, the top 10 was announced the day before a job interview. It was nice to mention to my soon-to-be sports editor, but it didn't make much of a difference because the job was mine to lose by that point. I got another top 10 a couple years, but I wasn't looking to move on. I can't say I struck gold through the APSEs (does anybody strike gold in this industry?), but I can say they were a nice pat on the back and, maybe, helped me move up in the field.

 

I won 3 APSE writing top 10 awards (2nd, 3rd and HM) in a 4-year span in the 100-250K category and I've got to admit, I thought I was pretty hot shit. Since then, I've been 0-for-the-last 4 years.

I don't think I've gotten worse, but it's definitely shaken my confidence a little bit.

Let's face it, we don't make a lot of money in this business. Getting recognition from your peers is a big deal.

 

have to admit i'm a sucker for the "won an APSE award and it changed my life" stories and love to hear them because it's inspiring. it gives you hope. it gives all of us hope. it's a sign that you really have a chance to make it if you do great work.

and it has happened -- SF has a story, Mizzou has a story. the most famous documented one is Mike Wise ... i believe he made a move from an under-40 to the NYT in part because someone loved reading his work while judging APSE entries. i don't have the details, but it's a well-known story, maybe someone who knows it can tell it correctly.

if any of you have any more of those stories, i want to hear them all.

HOWEVER

i'd love to hear one from the past 5 years or so. because i've done pretty well in APSEs the last 5 years or so, and it ain't happening ... or at least it ain't happening to me. the stories of the bigwigs scouring the list of APSE winners for names and then scooping them up -- it hasn't exactly been my experience.

i'd like to think that 10-15 years ago a big-time paper might have come calling, but it ain't happening today. or, again, at least not to me.

but keep the life-changing stories coming. love those.

 

I'd love to see the story about Mike Wise. I've become a fan.