APSE Judging Thread

[Lollygaggers]

To bring it back to the awards themselves, congrats to . . .

40,000-100,000
SPECIAL SECTIONS

Top 10
Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle
The Canton (Ohio) Repository
Daytona Beach (Fla.) News Journal
Harrisburg (Pa.) Patriot-News
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star
North County Times (Escondido, Calif.)
Provo (Utah) Daily Herald
Santa Rosa (Calif.) Press Democrat
The State (Columbia, S.C.)

Honorable Mention
Colorado Springs (Colo.) Gazette
Fort Wayne (Ind.) Journal Gazette
Fredericksburg (Va.) Free Lance-Star
Idaho Statesman
Post-Tribune of Northwest Indiana
Mobile (Ala.) Press Register
Newport News (Va.) Daily Press
Palm Springs (Calif.) Desert Sun
Roanoke (Va.) Times
Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette

 

[Lollygaggers]

And more congrats to . . . .

100,000-250,000
SPECIAL SECTIONS

Top 10
Buffalo News
Des Moines Register
Florida Times-Union
Louisville Courier-Journal
New Orleans Times-Picayune
Omaha World-Herald
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Salt Lake Tribune
Seattle Times
Tampa Tribune

Honorable Mention
Birmingham News
Columbus Dispatch
Indianapolis Star-Ledger
Lexington Herald-Leader
The Oklahoman
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Palm Beach Post
Syracuse Post-Standard
Virginian-Pilot
Washington Times

 

[playthrough]

Indianapolis Star-Ledger??

 

[Appgrad05]

I just assumed Indy and Newark had merged and I had not seem the memo.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

It seemed like my life revolved around those awards for a decade. If I won, it was great, if I didn't, it motivated me to come up with something bigger and better so I would win the next year.

My issue with the awards is not the pat on the back. No matter who you are, the recognition is nice.

My issue is that when huge papers are skipping the Final Four and the Super Bowl and just about every paper in the country is having its staff hacked to bare bones, there are more important things than the APSE contests and convention. Papers spend tons of money on what is essentially an extended vacation for most sports editors. Yes, they work hard... and they play even harder... on the company dime... Trust me, I know... I did it.

Based on what some of the papers spend on these things, you could save someone's job by cutting the money spent on APSE.

 

[Riddick]

It seemed like my life revolved around those awards for a decade. If I won, it was great, if I didn't, it motivated me to come up with something bigger and better so I would win the next year.

My issue with the awards is not the pat on the back. No matter who you are, the recognition is nice.

My issue is that when huge papers are skipping the Final Four and the Super Bowl and just about every paper in the country is having its staff hacked to bare bones, there are more important things than the APSE contests and convention. Papers spend tons of money on what is essentially an extended vacation for most sports editors. Yes, they work hard... and they play even harder... on the company dime... Trust me, I know... I did it.

Based on what some of the papers spend on these things, you could save someone's job by cutting the money spent on APSE.

Not to nitpick, but not all of us attend on the company dime. Some of us go to actually learn some **** and get some feedback. And I recall two years ago when Gannett said it wasn't sending its editors to the convention and several showed up on their own dime as well.
For the most part, I would easily agree that the convention is worthless, but like most things, it is what you make of it.

 

[apseloser]

Loser seconds Mizzougrad's emotion.

One convention, Loser went out with a group of judges. Loser was at a mid-sized paper at the time and it was some fancy schmancy steakhouse in Orlando. Entrees started at $30. "No way I can expense this," Loser thought to himself.

Check comes at the end of the meal. It's $400 (for 6 people). The sports editor of the biggest-circ paper in the group said, "I got this. ****, my writers expense stuff like this all the time."

This was 2005.

Loser wonders how many SEs are still dropping a grand or more on this complete waste of time (judging could be done by mail just as easily). Some of those same SEs are the ones not sending their writers on the road for big events.

 

[Moderator1]

Interesting. That SE must not have worked for the chain I did.
I never once put in an expense for a meal that big and I spent a ****load of time on the road. Never put one in as an SE either, nor did any of my writers. I would have loved to hear an explanation for that had something come across my desk.

I suppose some newspapers even a few years ago could have been so reckless with their money. Can't imagine that now.

Biggest meal I ever expensed was 90 bucks and that was with company permission when a bunch of us were on a 10-day roader that kept us away from home on 12/31/1999.

I wasn't an SE long but I never went to judging or the convention. Not knocking those who do. It just didn't interest me at a time when I was trying to figure out what I could cover with the money I was alloted. Had I been an SE 10 years earlier, I'm sure I would have felt differently.

 

[Ace]

The individual awards are still meaningful (but no, they are no job guarantee).

The section awards hit me this way -- I don't feel anything if we win. But I don't want to lose, either.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

One year, I went once to pick up an award and wound up judging. The $400 meals happened nightly. We were at a different steakhouse every night and I don't think I ever saw a bill. The stripclubs were also filled with editors and there were also quite a few people there who were supposed to be doing things, who were at the bar getting trashed.

I was at one dinner where the tab was $3500 for 20 of us. A relatively well-known SE picked up the tab. His comment was "It's not my money."

 

[21]

LA Times?

 

[Mizzougrad96]

LA Times?

You got the chain right.

 

[spankys]

few more section results....100-250 daily and 40-100 special


40,000-100,000
SPECIAL SECTIONS

Top 10
Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle
The Canton (Ohio) Repository
Daytona Beach (Fla.) News Journal
Harrisburg (Pa.) Patriot-News
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star
North County Times (Escondido, Calif.)
Provo (Utah) Daily Herald
Santa Rosa (Calif.) Press Democrat
The State (Columbia, S.C.)

Honorable Mention
Colorado Springs (Colo.) Gazette
Fort Wayne (Ind.) Journal Gazette
Fredericksburg (Va.) Free Lance-Star
Idaho Statesman
Post-Tribune of Northwest Indiana
Mobile (Ala.) Press Register
Newport News (Va.) Daily Press
Palm Springs (Calif.) Desert Sun
Roanoke (Va.) Times
Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette


100,000-250,000
DAILY SECTIONS

Top 10
Columbus Dispatch
Des Moines Register
Detroit News
Indianapolis Star
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
New Orleans Times-Picayune
Omaha World Herald
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Seattle Times
Washington Times

Honorable Mention
Charlotte Observer
Lexington Herald-Leader
The Oklahoman
Palm Beach Post
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The Record (Woodland Park, N.J.)
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Salt Lake Tribune
Tampa Tribune
Tulsa World

 

[HorseWhipped]

Wow, no Triple Crown for The Palm Beach Post this year. Does that break the string?

 

[apseloser]

What I really miss about this year's voting is the must-see judges photo gallery on the APSE site.

Of course, I guess I could just hit up the local Weight Watchers meeting if I yearn for those visuals.

 

[Moderator1]

loser, we get it. Enough with weight cracks. It makes you look like a petty asshole and detracts from some otherwise valid points you might make.

 

[SF_Express]

Wow, no Triple Crown for The Palm Beach Post this year. Does that break the string?

I think it has been quite some time, yes.

As for conventions: There's drinking and eating at judging, but there's a hell of a lot of work, too.

Not surprisingly, I disagree with apseloser and others who says the judging could be done by mail. Sure it could. But it wouldn't be done as well, and getting together with fellow sports editors is a benefit.

I make this argument once a year, and this is apparently the time. Many don't listen anyway, but I don't care, to me it's still valid.

Rampant expense account abuse isn't something I'd condone -- and I worked at a place where we picked up every tab, every time, for much of my time there -- but whenever we get into these things, there's an annoying aspect of the counterargument: That somehow, picking up a tab or whatever is ultimately coming at the expense of some poor shlub who lost his job.

In other words: Stay away from the conventions, and more people would have work.

Business budgets don't work that way, never have.

First of all, while all the major newspaper companies have cut payroll and jobs, they've also cut business expenses. Nobody's traveling like they used to back in the good old days. That's obvious.

But business expenses are a separate part of the budget. There are tax advantages for the company. Despite what some here continue to say, participation in APSE and APSE judging CAN return to the paper a better sports editor, and ultimately a better section, maybe even one who can find different ways to monetize what they're doing. Yeah, there's some eating and drinking. There's also professional development that certainly aided me in my career, and ultimately, my newspapers, and since this is personal experience, you can dispute it all you want, but it's true. It also, at its most basic, simply energizes you to go back to the office with renewed enthusiasm. Go ahead and knock that notion, but frankly, again it's a dumb argument; it's human nature that when you spend a few days with colleagues from around the country, you're going to want to hit the ground running back at home.

So guys like apseloser will always stereotype the participants and say it's one big drinkfest and knock the whole process. But I guarantee you: It helped me, it helped the newspapers I worked for, and since I was reasonable in my expenses, it was worth every penny in the long run to the places I worked for. And I'll admit this is so even though some of those APSE sessions were accompanied by a hangover.

 

[VJ]

It doesn't get our job back, but it's nice to see the Washington Times sports section pick up a Top 10 daily and honorable mention for special section.

 

[BTExpress]

Comparing Sunday with Sunday and other days with other days . . .

My paper's best section in 2010 will be worse than our worst section in 1997.

 

[Lynn_Hoppes]

Congratulations to the APSE winners so far.

I'm sorry I couldn't make it down for judging.

Apseloser, is it OK if I pat them on the back?

OK, guys, back to ripping me again.