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These days, it can feel that the New York Times is so dominant that it has no newspaper to compete with but itself. And now it has a new internal awards ceremony that lets it do just that.<\/p>\n
Late last year, people across the company were invited to nominate candidates for the inaugural \u201cOchs Awards,\u201d honoring the top journalists and journalism of the year. (Masthead positions and desk heads were ineligible.) Awards would be given in 25 categories, from \u201cBest Scoop\u201d to \u201cWriter of the Year\u201d to \u201cRising Journalist.\u201d There are also categories for beat reporting (in culture and lifestyle, in news) and editor of the year (culture and lifestyle, news, audio\/visual). The finalists in each category would be selected by \u201crelevant committees of editors,\u201d and the masthead would then choose the winners.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the finalists were announced, as staff were invited to join virtually to \u201craise a glass to the winners\u201d \u2014 who will receive a cash prize \u2014 on the evening of February 10. \u201cUnfortunately, we can\u2019t accommodate the entire company at the event,\u201d publisher A.\u2009G. Sulzberger explained in a previous email. \u201cWe\u2019ll have room for finalists and winners, as well as their editors. The event will be livestreamed so that the rest of the newsroom and company can be part of the celebration as well.\u201d Internally, staffers are rolling their eyes. \u201cWhen it\u2019s no longer possible to chew up our competitors (too diminished, if not outright demolished), of course we choose to sharpen our teeth on each other,\u201d one Times reporter said. \u201cThis is really just a delightfully insane thing to do,\u201d said another.<\/p>\n
The awards are seemingly an effort to recognize a broader group of people at the paper beyond its multi-Pulitzer-Prize winning reporters, media-celebrity podcast hosts<\/a>, and, increasingly, video stars<\/a>. \u201cThey did not succeed,\u201d one staffer said. \u201cIt\u2019s all the usual suspects.\u201d<\/p>\n The Daily, The Ezra Klein Show, and Popcast are finalists for Best Podcast Episode. Maggie Haberman is part of two of the three teams competing for \u201cBest Scoop\u201d and is also a finalist for \u201cThe Punch Sulzberger Award for Reporting Without Favor.\u201d (\u201cFirst of all,\u201d one reporter said, \u201cwho is reporting with favor? That\u2019s hilarious.\u201d) Lydia Polgreen, M. Gessen, and David French are the \u201cOpinion Writer of the Year\u201d finalists.<\/p>\n To be fair, not every finalist is a household name, and some categories seem designed explicitly to recognize less visible staffers, like the \u201cBehind the Scenes Award,\u201d \u201cBest Product Contribution,\u201d and various subsections of \u201cBest Editor.\u201d Several staffers said they were glad to see their colleagues get some recognition.<\/p>\n There\u2019s long been angst in the newsroom around who gets to be a star. The Times is filled with talented people, and the corporate view is that you\u2019re never bigger than the institution, which is why many who become stars eventually end up leaving for more expansive opportunities.<\/p>\n But the paper has over the years become more interested in marketing its individuals, as personality-driven content has become the dominant way to attract an audience. The Ochs Awards, a newsroom staffer said, is \u201ca perfect way to read who the masthead has on their gold star list. Another way to make everyone more insecure.\u201d<\/p>\n The Ochs Awards are merely the latest internal recognition prize. There\u2019s also the Publisher\u2019s Award, a quarterly honor recognizing particularly impactful stories and products, which also comes with a cash prize, and the Trifecta, a little Renzo Piano-red plexiglass plaque recognizing reporting that lands on the Times\u2019 three marquee platforms: the homepage, The Morning newsletter, and audio.<\/p>\n Sign Up for the Intelligencer\u00a0Newsletter<\/p>\n Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n