Award-Winning Work
I’ve heard it said that journalism awards are like belly buttons — everyone has one, and no one cares about anyone else’s. And maybe that’s true. That said, here are some stories I’ve won awards for. Forgive the navel-gazing.
Once upon a time, I tracked down my childhood idol. His name was Golden Richards, and he played for the Dallas Cowboys in the mid-1970s. Then he overdosed in front of me. (Texas Monthly, December 1995; Best American Sports Writing of 1996)
When I became Editor of Time Out Chicago, one of the first packages we did was an ode to Chicago’s dive bars, and it was nominated for a 2007 National Magazine Award. Alas, it didn’t win, but I did get this picture with Judah Friedlander. So we’ll call it even. (Time Out Chicago, July 19-25, 2007)
This 1995 story about a massive wildfire won Best Spot News Coverage by Weekly Newspaper by California Press Association and Best News Story by a Weekly Newspaper from the Peninsula Press Association. (Point Reyes Light, Oct. 5, 1995)
A few years back, I noticed that every time you saw a character in a movie with very white skin, this person was portrayed as evil. So I looked into it, wrote this story, and ended up winning an award for it. I’m still proud of that. (Daily Herald, Feb. 26, 2004)