A FFE reader forwarded this column with a pretty strange story about a woman reporter who won a journalism award just two days after she had been laid off. There is a twist I won't spoil here, but you'll see it.
There is also a funny comment about the journalism awards won by the columnist writing about the award winner who got laid off.
Funny to me, because in 30 years I collected a few awards myself, but my favorites were the Associated Press plaques because my wife and I find they make great table trivets for hot dishes.
The brass face plaque helps keep the dish warm while the wooden base protects the table.
Like the columnist, all of my journalism awards are in a box in the attic. I was never motivated by awards and, as many of my former editors will attest, I resisted taking the time each year to submit any work to various contests.
Not being overly modest here, I just didn't care about the whole awards thing.
The dirty little secret is that there is kind of a formula for winning journalism awards:
1.) Sad stories about people with disfiguring injuries/burns are almost guaranteed award packages.
2.) Maudlin columns about dead relatives are top contenders.
I'll do a little more thinking about this and make a more comprehensive list.
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The one benefit I see from awards is they look good on a resume and might give you leverage when it comes to getting a much-sought-after job and negotiating a decent salary. Otherwise, I try not to get too crazy about them because I've seen people who aren't really great writers win them. Funny thing, Jim, the colleague of yours that you and I know who was a Pulitzer finalist told me that the articles written by the eventual winner were riddled with errors.
That reminds me: you should do a "Where are they now?" posting sometime on the likes of Janet Cooke.
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