Explain Awards to Me. Seriously.

I guess I could summarize this thread in five words: Awards mean nothing...and everything.

 

That sounds about right.

About the only thing they're good for is the affirmation that comes from peer recognition of your work. Somehow, hearing a peer tell you your work is solid means more than it does from other people.

Some of my favorite moments have come from reporters from other outlets telling me they read my paper and like what we do. That and hearing my former ad director telling me that people from our regional press association have praised my paper's work without his promting.

 

The only good award is ... one I have won.

 

I'm an award-winning journalist this year! Second place in sports column writing! I get a certificate, I get a certificate, I get a certificate!

 

Meanwhile, the only award my paper has won is ... for a story written by one of my student writers.

Of course, it was the kind of story press associations eat up. But still. I'm fired up for her though!

 

Haven't won an award yet. I entered some state association stuff and the APSE's one year, so far no luck. I look at it this way, if it's meant to happen it will happen. I enjoy writing too much to have not winning an award ruin it.

 

I'm not surprised. There's a rumor floating around in my state about last year's winner. He "retired" from the newspaper business to go into what amounts to a PR job this year. According to word on the street, he told some of the people on the committee who pick the award, that last year was his last year in the business, and having several friends on the committee, they decided to reward him with a retirement present.

 

Awards are just the validation that other people think our stuff is as good as we think it is.
That's why you submit stuff and why they're nice to win. But I wouldn't hang my career on it.
I won an award from the AHL one year in which my work was no better or no worse than the previous 12 years. I could only conclude that it was my "turn" to win.
Similarly, I've submitted stuff for awards that I thought had a real shot at winning, and not been close. I've submitted one this year that I really like and my editors like. It would be nice to see it win. But I won't be crushed if it doesn't.

 

On the other side of the coin, could consistently not winning awards help you realize maybe you're not as good as you think you are and make you work harder?
Is there something about contests that make them worthwhile even if you don't win? Could there be some value in keeping you humble?

 

Very much the feeling I had, huntsie. (Although I'm sure you're being a bit hard on yourself.)

 

Awards are cool. They are a nice reminder from your peers that you do decent work. Sometimes that's hard to remember when you're getting shit from Johnny JV's mom because you didn't mention the two points he scored in a 96-13 loss.

They shouldn't be THE measuring stick for a job well done, though. Lots of good day-to-day work will never get a APSE or press association award.

 

Why do we assume that the people "doing great work every day" also aren't the same people who turn out the award winners a few times a year? Wouldn't it make sense that this is the same person, owing to said person's talent, eye for story and intimacy with his/her beat(s)?

A lot of you start from a false premise - that the two types are mutually exclusive. They are not.