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Explain Awards to Me. Seriously.

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by jgmacg, Mar 4, 2008.

  1. chazp

    chazp Active Member

    1000 percent true. The first state press association award I won was for a column on special Olympics. I didn't even know my editor had entered that column. I don't think to this day that it was one of my better columns, but it won. It had to be the subject matter.
     
  2. Jones

    Jones Active Member

    I'm proud of the awards I've won, and I would like to win some more.

    I understand they're subjective, and I understand that the right story doesn't always win, but I still count winning the National Magazine Award among the top ten moments of my life. I thought winning would sort of cure me, but in fact, it just made me want to win more of them. I don't want to be a one-timer, a fluke, like Cuba Gooding Jr. (And I'll confess to having thought about winning an Oscar for screenwriting one day, however shallow or stupid that makes me.)

    I don't think my NMA changed the way people thought of me or my writing, but it changed the way I thought of me.

    It was also just a really good time.
     
  3. Moondoggy

    Moondoggy Member

    I've judged contests before (never APSE) and I remember what it was like plowing through entries - and that was for just little state contests. I can only imagine what it's like to get the mass entries that go with APSE.

    My point on that is that I'm not sure any of us can accurately handicap what it takes to win one of these things. I think after a while the judges' eyes begin to cross and that only changes when something jumps off the page that seems different and interesting.

    A couple of years ago I thought I had killer entries (along with a great kicker graf on one rather lengthy piece) only to be completely shut out. Naturally, I won the next year with stuff I didn't think stylistically was as good.

    In keeping with the theme of the thread, you have to keep those inconsistencies in mind and put the plaques in perspective. They look great on your wall and perhaps your resume, but the better reward came from the subject of the aforementioned piece that didn't win. She still keeps in touch and that story did her and a few others a world of good by shining light on a certain problem.

    I'll call that a win and go on from there.
     
  4. In Exile

    In Exile Member

    The first time I ever won an award was for an essay I wrote in eighth grade in a contest sponsored by the United Federation of Women's Clubs or some such thing. I finished second in the state, which was enough for the school principal to call for an assembly in the gym/auditorium so the entire school could see me collect my prestigious award.

    My English teacher called me on stage, gave a brief speech extolling my talents, then handed me the expected cheesy certificate and a large manila envelope. My heart fluttered as I walked back to my seat, wondering what was in the envelope, expecting some kind of gift certificate, or maybe a check, or savings bond, or perhaps even a small college scholarship. I mean, hell, I was second in the state, and it was a goddamn big state.

    I opened the envelope and inside was . . . a pencil. A yellow, wood, number two pencil. Stenciled on the side it said "CONTEST WINNER."

    The second and last time I won an award my expectations were quite a bit lower and I wasn't disappointed. I had a poem selected to appear on a billboard in a "Poetry in Public Places" contest. The artist who designed the billboard received $250.00.

    I received directions to the billboard so I could drive past it.
     
  5. Stone Cane

    Stone Cane Member

    good question, BP.

    if an editor i was interviewing with (if there were ever another job opening) asked me why my awards stopped in 2001 or whenever it was, i would explain why i stopped entering and how i think my writing got better when i did. i think my clips are better since then than before, so i guess i'd just bank on that. if the guy was so into awards that he ruled me out of a job because of that, so be it. i probably wouldn't want to work for him anyway (yeah, right)
     
  6. gottawrite

    gottawrite Member

    When you work at a shop whose owner and general manager are interested in 1) making money and 2) keeping their limited and aging subscriber pool happy (yes, instead of trying to build new circulation by being relevant), APSEs and other awards are tangible proof you can offer that your section is good, that your writers are talented and hard working. These people might not understand the logic of, say, staffing an NBA game 50 miles away instead of the 3-and-19 junior college volleyball team's game played before 20 people (four of whom are there, in diapers, because their moms are playing). We didn't win section awards while I was at this place, but some of my writers won awards and moved on. Winning those awards meant that for a week or two we were left alone to do our jobs.

    I was attending APSE conventions when the decision was made to stop giving feedback on contest entries and I understand why it was done. Still, I missed getting back the comments that said things like, "You really don't have enough space to compete at this level." I could take comments like that to my boss and get a couple extra pages -- for a few days, anyway.
     
  7. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    I've worked for seven sports editors since I graduated from college... Three were fired largely because of doing poorly in APSEs...

    It's absurd, but it happens...
     
  8. imjustagirl

    imjustagirl Active Member

    I've never won an award at any level. Not even just within my newspaper.

    I still have a pretty damn good job.
     
  9. kingcreole

    kingcreole Active Member

    I like entering our chain contest because first place wins $100.

    I once worked with a guy who once helped judge another state association's contest. He said most people who judged that contest skimmed the first few grafs of stories, but rarely if ever read a whole story. They awarded prizes based on that.
     
  10. I am not surprised at all with that. In fact, I bet it happens a lot. I've worked hard at becoming a better "narrative" feature writer - letting the story build, not giving away the farm early, basically letting the story unfold naturally. It doesn't seem to win feature-writing newspapers awards, however, including APSE, unless you hit them over the hammer with what THE POINT of the person's story is in the opening. Which goes against what Jon Franklin advises in "Writing for Story" when he swears off "flash forward" and says you should, too.

    I'm probably more cut out for magazines. Or else just not that good :)
     
  11. PaperDoll

    PaperDoll Well-Known Member

    Awards are very important to the management of my paper. Winning awards seems to create a feeling of, "Look at us! We don't suck as much as our rapidly declining circulation says we do!" ::)

    I really like to win awards. Maybe I have crummy self-esteem, but I appreciate the external validation, someone besides my mom telling me I'm good at what I do (and my mom doesn't even read my stuff unless I forward links to her... and sometimes not even then! :mad:) I've got the first-place "plaques" -- all but one are actually just framed certificates -- on the wall.

    The awards (including one treasured APSE) haven't gotten me a new job. They haven't gotten me a raise. They don't make me write any differently, since I tend to get assigned the kind of stories that wind up in contests anyway. But once a year, if my name is on the list of winners, I feel a tiny bit better about living through all this chaos.
     
  12. Dave Kindred

    Dave Kindred Member

    Red Smith's Pulitzer certificate, framed, leaned against the wall of his little barn-office, out of sight unless you went looking for it.
    On the other hand, Jim Murray said, "I'm going to put mine on top of my roof with a spotlight on it."

    As much as I loved and respected Red -- hell, he'd pry the plaques off awards and use the wood for kindling -- I'd do the Murray ego thing. I've done it in my office. I have in sight my first meaningful award, a National Headliners. It wasn't for sportswriting but for metro columns. The plaque, still attached to the wood, says: "Outstanding Local Interest or Feature Column on Variety of Subjects." One reason I keep it around is that the previous year's winner in that category was Mike Royko.
     
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