Awards publication
Disappointing in that it takes days to get the awards list publicized. You guys have the list done by Saturday morning at the very latest, and it shouldn't take but a few minutes to copy the template from the previous year's awards and update the information. From that, it shouldn't take more than a minute or two to add the new page to the Awards list. How come those of us that can't attend, have to wait days after the event for the official list to come out?
Craig, as long as I've been here, we've always published the awards first thing Sunday morning. We get the information from multiple sources, in all different formats - spreadsheets, CSVs, .PDFs, Word documents - at least once, one group gave us a photo of a printed Word document. Each group uses different columns and syntax, etc., as well.Originally Posted by CraigCantwell
On average, it takes 2-3 hours to collate, organize, and retype (as needed) the data into the table that we need to be able to print it in the newspaper. That table then spends 1-2 hours in copyediting, catching typos, changing scores of entries that come to us in all caps, fact-checking against the original source material, etc. Once it goes to our designers, it takes another hour or two to lay it out, to get it to flow properly from page to page, to select and format images to fill in the blank spaces, etc. So "it shouldn't take more than a few minutes" was pretty hilarious to all of us!
On top of, and, far, far more important than all of that, we are strictly forbidden from publishing the awards list before Sunday morning, because not all of the winners know that they won until a banquet on Saturday night.
Hope this clears it up for you!
Best -
Hal
Hal Bryan
EAA Lifetime 638979
Vintage 714005 | Warbirds 553527
Managing Editor
EAA—The Spirit of Aviation
Hal: I was being a little facetious about the time.... I also made the assumption that you guys got the list from whomever compiles it for the award engravings. I'm sure that there are lots of members that can't attend, and do like I do and look for the awards list under the actual tab for the awards.... Still hasn't been updated yet for 2023. As to publishing them earlier, I'd advocate for posting the list online after the close of the awards banquet. Many of the awards I find out about via postings on various forums I read, usually within an hour or two of the banquet being over...I know of a couple award winners that found out in flight on the way home, via text's from friends that were at the banquet.
BTW... done my share of writing, editing and publishing over the years in print, as well as being involved in news broadcasting, in local, national and international operations. I date back far enough that 2" and 3/4" tape ruled in broadcast, linotype was still heavily in use and "cut and paste" meant using x-acto knives and glue to correct photoset galleys.....
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