Neil Brown, president of the Poynter Institute, knows contests. He’s the current co-chair of the Pulitzer Prize Board. During his tenure as editor of the Tampa Bay Times, his staff won more Pulitzers and other national and state awards than at any time in its history. As a former American Society of News Editors board member, he judged that prestigious contest many times.

Here, he talks about the new contest on the block, the Poynter Journalism Prizes, which previously was the News Leaders Association Awards following the merger of the ASNE and the Associated Press Media Editors in 2019. The group transferred the contest to Poynter this year as it ends operations.

What’s the value of contests? What are this contest’s values? In a Q&A with Jennifer Orsi, senior director of publishing and local news initiatives at Poynter, Brown explains the ongoing evolution of a storied 45-year-old contest that has honored some of journalism’s best. The deadline to enter the 2024 Poynter Journalism Prizes is Feb. 16.

Jennifer Orsi: Why does it matter that there are journalism contests, or that Poynter is taking on this contest to make sure it continues? Aren’t contests just self-congratulatory?

Neil Brown: Contests can be self-congratulatory — if they are self-congratulatory. On one hand, there’s no doubt the only thing that matters ultimately is our journalism. Did we do quality journalism that served our communities? There are certainly key ways we judge that — subscriptions, audience feedback, reaction from the community. And that is of course the most valuable thing.

But for quality control and holding ourselves to a higher standard, it’s often helpful to get peer feedback, to understand if your work is succeeding at a standard often set by the industry itself. And so on one hand it would be disingenuous to say we’re not interested in the recognition from our peers and contests don’t matter. It’s also disingenuous to say that only the audience matters and knows and recognition around the industry doesn’t matter.

I think all of us who have entered contests, who want to find ways to show both support, and I’ll even add help the growth and development of our team members, find it very helpful and often quite uplighting to enter contests and see how your work fares against that of others who do the same kind of work. The reality is at a time when there are so many different forms of journalism, it really is helpful to understand which ones are working, how to do it better, get a glimpse of who is doing it very well and learn from that. Contests really do help in that regard. As I said, it’s not the only measure of those things, but it helps.

Also, at a time when there is a lot of criticism of journalism, it’s nice to be able to recognize really good work and boost the spirits of those producing it.

One last thing. As a longtime editor, I will also say that seeing other work in contests stokes ideas and coverage that can be borrowed, replicated, imitated in our own markets. So there’s a bit of an industry sharing involved that’s really useful.

Orsi: What kind of journalism do you hope this contest becomes known for honoring? What do you see as its place in the landscape of journalism contests?

Brown: At a time when there are so many new and interesting forms of journalism and people are trying new and interesting things, one fundamental runs through all of it, past, present and future: the caliber and quality of writing. Whether you are in broadcast, digital, graphic journalism, communicating clearly through the written word — however it’s presented — remains so fundamental to what we do.

At Poynter, we are constantly being asked for training on writing, because it is an underpinning, no matter what form the stories ultimately may take. I think this contest is important starting at least with its history, which was to honor clear, compelling writing.

And then beyond clear and compelling writing, we are looking for creative, interesting storytelling. That can come in so many different ways, whether it’s accountability journalism, narrative storytelling, short-form writing. Obviously clarity matters, but presenting stories that are worth an audience member’s time, and stories that move them, is something that this contest will value.

Orsi: Did you have personal involvement in the contest over the years?

Brown: Yes. When it was run by the American Society of News Editors, I judged it numerous times. I found it one of the most engaging contests to be part of in part because the focus on writing was so prominent. In the earliest days of the contest, the format was such that there were no visuals or sidebars included so you were really focusing on the core writing. That has appropriately evolved, but the spirit of the contest, the spirit that Poynter has been part of through Gene Patterson (the former Poynter chairman who helped inspire the ASNE contest), Roy Peter Clark and others was that there are lots of contests that judge lots of different things, but we wanted this one to particularly honor strong and effective writing. So that level of judging was fun to be part of.

Orsi: When the News Leaders Association took on the contest, it added a focus on leadership and editing to some awards, which remain. What are the key tenets of being a great leader of good journalism?

Brown: I believe being a great leader of good journalism starts with valuing compelling storytelling that serves its audience. We say “leadership of good journalism,” but that must be reflected in a connection to your community and to those you serve. Call it newsroom leaders or call it editors — editors we have always thought should represent the audience and help the teams they lead be effective, honest and ethical, and produce compelling stories. Relevance and writing should go hand in hand. Effective newsroom leaders help their colleagues achieve those values and those characteristics should permeate the journalism in the communities they serve.

Orsi: Why did Poynter decide to add a prize this year for great short writing named after Roy Peter Clark?

Brown: First, we’ll start with short writing. It’s not corny or a cliche to say that people’s time is limited and that we should have respect for the audience’s time, attention and how they consume journalism. Short writing should be an absolute core value of that work. It need not be the only value, but it’s an important one. I think there’s not a newsroom of any form — TV, print, digital, audio — that doesn’t at times think, “We’ve done some really good work, and it might have been even better had it been a little shorter.” If we’re being honest, there’s a pretty common history to many contests to value work by the pound.

We wanted to make a statement that in addition to complex and longer-form journalism, short, effective storytelling can be absolutely as powerful. We strongly encourage it and hope we’ll start to see more examples of that as this contest gets off the ground.

Second, to the person we are honoring, for several decades, the preeminent journalism writing coach in this country has been Roy Peter Clark. He has been a pioneer of various writing forms. His writing books are on the shelves of most journalists I know, and he personifies the Poynter brand. If you had a story today and wanted someone to read it and give you smart, clear and helpful feedback, the first person you’d call would be Roy. Honoring him through this contest feels like a no-brainer. He has been a supporter of great writing, and he has also been the face of Poynter for years. It seemed appropriate to involve him in elevating journalism writing today.

By Jennifer Orsi, senior director for publishing and local news initiatives

Jury awards man $5 million in lawsuit against Gannett

During a 2021 girls’ playoff basketball game, players from Oklahoma’s Norman High School took a knee during the national anthem. One of the announcers for the game didn’t like that. A hot mic caught him denigrating the players with foul language, including a racial slur.

A recording of the livestream went viral, catching the attention of a sports reporter for The Oklahoman. The paper identified the announcer in a story that it published the following day.

One problem: They named the wrong man.

And a jury has now decided that Gannett, the owner of the Oklahoman, owes the man $5 million for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Jurors will meet again Monday to determine additional punitive damages.

Oklahoma-based nonprofit newsroom NonDoc has the details on what went wrong, including Microsoft Teams chats between reporters and editors as the story was coming together.

By Ren LaForme, managing editor

The Chronicle’s powerful front page

Say what you want about newspaper print circulation, but there’s something still eminently powerful about a well-done front page.

Case in point: the San Francisco Chronicle’s Sunday A1, which includes the names of 806 people who died from accidental drug overdoses in the city last year. On X, Chronicle editor-in-chief Emilio Garcia-Ruiz called it “a record number that will likely grow in the coming weeks as this crisis continues unabated.”

Sometimes, the front page of a newspaper is a story on its own.

Here’s today’s @sfchronicle pic.twitter.com/suOD0gfApc

— Bill Grueskin (@BGrueskin) February 4, 2024

Last year, The Daily Tar Heel at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill caught the nation’s attention by publishing a front page that featured text messages from UNC students who were locked down during a school shooting.

By Ren LaForme, managing editor

Media tidbits and links

• President Barack Obama sat down for an interview that aired before the Super Bowl in 2009 and it became something of a tradition. Even President Donald Trump, who dubbed journalists “the enemy of the people,” met with the press for three out of the four Super Bowls during his tenure. But, for the second year in a row, President Joe Biden will sit it out. The New York Times’ Michael M. Grynbaum has more.
• The news business is looking shakier than ever. Many journalists have left for other gigs, and it’s no cakewalk for those of us still working the ink mines. Scott Maxwell, the metro columnist for the Orlando Sentinel, offers a pithy look at why we keep at it in, “Newspapers are in rough shape. Let us tell you why we stay.”
• Spotify may have recently canceled a handful of podcasts it acquired as part of Gimlet Media in 2019, but the audio streamer seems to be doubling down on at least one show: “The Joe Rogan Experience.” The Wall Street Journal’s Anne Steele reports that Spotify and Rogan signed a new deal that is estimated to be worth as much as $250 million over its multiyear term.
• Semafor’s Max Tani with, “How Condé Nast bought and destroyed America’s iconic music publication.”
• Vanity Fair’s Jack McCordick with, “Tucker Carlson Pops Up in Moscow, Generating Speculation About a Possible Putin Interview.”
• The Guardian’s Chris McGreal reports, “CNN staff say network’s pro-Israel slant amounts to ‘journalistic malpractice’”
• The New York Times’ Declan Walsh and Samar Abu Elouf, with photographs by Samar Abu Elouf, with “Portraits of Gazans.”
• For The Washington Post, it’s Glenn Frankel with, “How one man’s advance planning brought Beatlemania to America.”

More resources for journalists

• The 2024 Poynter Journalism Prizes are now open for entries. To enter, go to the contest website. The deadline for entries is Feb. 16.
• Empower your storytelling skills with Beat Academy 2024 (Webinar series) — Feb. 1-Sept. 26. Enroll now.
• Essential Skills for Rising Newsroom Leaders (Seminar) (May) — Apply by March 26.
• Subscribe to Poynter’s Friday newsletter, Open Tabs with Poynter managing editor Ren LaForme, and get behind-the-scenes stories only available to subscribers.

Have feedback or a tip? Email us at news@poynter.org.

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