APSE Judging Thread

[MileHigh]

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.

Yup, you do this every year ... and you're right in what you say. Per usual.

And any expenses brings to mind the Bill Dwyre memo of a few years ago.

http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2005/04/memo_of_the_wee.php

 

[SF_Express]

And any expenses brings to mind the Bill Dwyre memo of a few years ago.

http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2005/04/memo_of_the_wee.php

Well, of course, in the Golden Years, Dwyre could run up an expense account on a dinner with 10 sports editors with the best of them -- hell, he WAS the best of them. Those were the days.

 

[JBHawkEye]

Early results from today:

UNDER 40,000
BREAKING NEWS STORY
Top 10
Marc Weiszer, Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald
Chris Koman and Hugh Kellenberger, (Bloomington, Ind.) Herald-Times
Dave O’Onofrio, Concord (N.H.) Monitor
Alicia Johnson, (Glen Falls, N.Y.) Post-Star
Dugan Arnett, (Lawrence, Kan.) Journal-World
Patrick Ridgell, (Longmont, Colo.) Daily Times-Call
Stacy Long, Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser
Brad Engel and Jason Ivanitz, Naperville (Ill.) Sun
Jim Seimas and Jennifer Squires, Santa Cruz (Calif.) Sentinel
Kevin Melton, (Spartanburg, S.C.) Herald-Journal

OVER 250,000
EXPLANATORY
Top 10
Shira Springer, Boston Globe
Shawn Windsor, Detroit Free Press
Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times
Mark Kram, Philadelphia Daily News
Mike Jensen, Philadelphia Inquirer
Derrick Goold, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Michael Kruse and Stephen F. Holder, St. Petersburg Times
Brent Schrotenboer, San Diego Union-Tribune
Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune
Jon Wilner and Mark Emmons, San Jose Mercury News

 

[Ace]

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.

I don't think apseloser was picking on you. He seems to be more of a chubby chaser.

 

[MileHigh]

Over 250,000 Sunday:

Top 10
Boston Globe
Chicago Tribune
Dallas Morning News
Denver Post
Detroit Free Press
Kansas City Star
Miami Herald
New York Daily News
New York Times
St. Petersburg Times

Honorable Mention
Baltimore Sun
Chicago Sun-Times
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Houston Chronicle
Los Angeles Times
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Newark Star-Ledger
Orlando Sentinel
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Washington Post

 

[MileHigh]

OVER 250,000
DAILY SECTIONS

Top 10
Boston Globe
Dallas Morning News
Denver Post
Kansas City Star
Los Angeles Times
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
New York Times
Orlando Sentinel
Philadelphia Inquirer
Washington Post

Honorable Mention
Arizona Republic
Chicago Tribune
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Houston Chronicle
Miami Herald
Newsday
Philadelphia Daily News
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
St. Petersburg Times
USA Today

 

[WriteThinking]

Awards may not help save your job, but people are still impressed by them and take them into consideration.

I'm willing to bet they can still help you get a job, and these days, that counts for something.

 

[apseloser]

After one more snarky post — no top 20 finishes for any AJC section? Wow — Loser has decided to turn over a new leaf and be nicer on this board.

As his first post with his new 'tude, Loser would like to offer major kudos to the Triple Crown winners — KC, Dallas, P'burgh, Columbia, New Orleans and everyone else. That's an impressive achievement in any era.

And it's the one honor — decided by 3 sets of judges — where there's clearly no bias.

Loser does not believe there is bias and does not dispute how hard the judges work, as a former judge himself. Loser isn't as big a fan of the handful of editors who sit in a room and collect the votes from the actual judges.

 

[Riddick]

Is it me, or are there a lot of new names on the writers list? Most times the list seems somewhat familiar.

 

[JayFarrar]

The awards this year seem more interesting for who isn't there.
In my area, a fairly consistent APSE winning writer, wasn't honored, on the other hand, he's in law school and out of the newspaper business.
I suspect that's true for a lot of folks and that's why a whole host of new names are popping up.
As far as the section awards go, seems like the smaller Gannett papers swung and missed of course the same is true for larger papers as well. Indy was the only big paper I saw win a top 10.

 

[Riddick]

Des Moines did pretty well, but that's about it.

 

[Sic semper tyrannis]

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.

Biggest meal I ever expensed was for 700 euros, in advance of Athens Olympics. Took our "team" out for a hell of a night, a prethanks for all the hours and effort they were going to put in.
Was pre-approved to do so by EiC
The goodwill that bought was worth the dough.
I never expensed a meal that didn't include someone on my staff - frankly, didn't do a lot of those.
In the grand scheme of budgeting, a meal here, beer there, is a drop in the bucket. But it goes a long way when "the boss" reaches for the check and says "I got it."
I know that because I've had my bosses do the same, and perhaps this is stupid, but its a way to tell someone they are valued enough to spend some money on just to enjoy a small luxury.

 

[Magic In The Night]

As far as the section awards go, seems like the smaller Gannett papers swung and missed of course the same is true for larger papers as well. Indy was the only big paper I saw win a top 10.

I believe Detroit got top top for Sunday sections.

 

[Lollygaggers]

More results:

40,000-100,000
PROJECTS

Top 10

Gene Sapakoff, Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier
Gentry Estes and Mike Herndon, Mobile (Ala.) Press Register
Brandt Merritt, The Lakeland (Fla.) Ledger
Scott M. Johnson, The Everett (Wash.) Daily Herald
David Teel and Dave Fairbank, Newport News (Va.) Daily Press
Stu Whitney, Mick Garry, Terry Vandrovec, Matt Zimmer, Maggie Stehr and Mike Klinski, Sioux Falls (S.D.) Argus Leader
Chris Beaven, Joe Frollo, Todd Porter, Josh Weir, The Repository (Canton, Ohio)
Bob Flounders, Roxanne Moses, David Bohr, Rod Frisco, James Phillips, Andrew Shay, John Tuscano, Jeremy Elliott, David Rung, Michael Bullock and David Jones, Harrisburgh (Pa.) Patriot-News
Annabelle Tometich, The News-Press (Fort Myers, Fla.)
Todd M. Adams and Dan Wiederer, The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer

UNDER 40,000
FEATURE STORIES

Top 10

Jim Owczarski, Aurora (Ill.) Beacon News
Rob Schultz, Capital Times (Madison, Wis.)
Alex Matthews, Glens Falls (N.Y.) Post-Star
Rick S. Alvord, Longview (Wash.) Daily News
Tony Blasi, Lewiston (Maine) Sun Journal
Corey Mitchell, Saginaw (Mich.) News
Jim Seimas, Santa Cruz Sentinel (Scotts Valley, Calif.)
Jeff Breer, Southeast Missourian (Cape Girardeau, Mo.)
Tony Baranek, Southtown Star (Tinley Park, Ill.)
Dave Zeitlin, West Chester (Pa.) Daily Local News

 

[imjustagirl]

More results:

40,000-100,000
PROJECTS

Top 10

David Teel and Dave Fairbank, Newport News (Va.) Daily Press

Congrats to the Daves, who are great writers and better people.

 

[slappy4428]

Somebody's dream was deferred ....


OVER 250,000
COLUMN WRITING

Top 10


Kevin Sherrington, Dallas Morning News
Jason Whitlock, Kansas City Star
Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times
Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune
Tim Sullivan, San Diego Union-Tribune
Gwen Knapp, San Francisco Chronicle
Bernie Milkasz, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Gary Shelton, St. Petersburg Times
Dave Hyde, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Sally Jenkins, Washington Post

 

[eyecu]

More results:

40,000-100,000
PROJECTS

Top 10

David Teel and Dave Fairbank, Newport News (Va.) Daily Press

Congrats to the Daves, who are great writers and better people.

hear hear.

 

[Simon_Cowbell]

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.

Biggest meal I ever expensed was for 700 euros, in advance of Athens Olympics. Took our "team" out for a hell of a night, a prethanks for all the hours and effort they were going to put in.
Was pre-approved to do so by EiC
The goodwill that bought was worth the dough.
I never expensed a meal that didn't include someone on my staff - frankly, didn't do a lot of those.
In the grand scheme of budgeting, a meal here, beer there, is a drop in the bucket. But it goes a long way when "the boss" reaches for the check and says "I got it."
I know that because I've had my bosses do the same, and perhaps this is stupid, but its a way to tell someone they are valued enough to spend some money on just to enjoy a small luxury.

You guys are already on a working vacation.

Sickening.

How about the mother****ers who have to stay in the normal hellhole they work at for 45-50 hours a week, week after week?

Where is the $1500 dinner night for them?

Pathetic.

 

[playthrough]

This is the APSE Judging Thread thread (if that makes sense). If someone wants to start a new thread debating the pros/cons, highs/lows and protocols of dining on the company dollar, be my guest. But let's stick with the original topic here; a lot of people still care.

 

[nietsroob17]

Looks like 9 papers came through with the APSE Triple Crown...

2010 APSE WINTER JUDGING CONVENTION
Kansas City Star, Dallas Morning News among nine papers to win Triple Crown


KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Nine newspapers won the coveted Triple Crown in the Associated Press Sports Editors’ writing and section contests that ended Wednesday.

The Kansas City Star and the Dallas Morning News, competing in the over-250,00 circulation division, won Top 10 recognition for their daily, Sunday and special sections. Joining them were: the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and New Orleans Times-Picayune in the 100,000-250,000 category; The State (Columbia, S.C.) and the North County Times (Escondido, Calif.) in the 40,000-100,000 circulation division; Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News in under-40,000; and the Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World and the Marietta (Ga.) Daily Journal in under-20,000.

In addition to the section awards, the nation’s best sports writing was recognized. The Top 10 in each writing category was announced in Kissimmee.

Three news organizations won six writing awards apiece in the largest-circulation category: the Washington Post, the San Diego Union-Tribune and YahooSports. This year was the first that general interest sports web sites such as YahooSports were allowed to enter the contest.

In the 100,000-250,000 circulation category, The Salt Lake Tribune, Detroit News and the Palm Beach Post each won five writing awards.

The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer and North County Times (Escondido, Calif.) each took four writing awards in the 40,000-100,000 category. The Glens Falls Post-Star led the Under-40,000 category with six writing awards.

The top five finalists in the writing categories will be announced on the APSE website – apsportseditors.org – by April 15. Winners will receive their awards in June at the APSE convention in Salt Lake City.