45 Comments - Anonymous - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 9:41 am: Peter Lisagor is rolling over in his grave. - Winnin' - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 9:43 am: But…journalism? - Cubs in '16 - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 9:45 am: “groundbreaking storytelling work” That says it all. - Oswego Willy - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 9:46 am: There are awards for fiction and non-fiction in journalism? Huh. Who knew? - illini - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 9:48 am: I’ll start paying attention when they are nominated for a Pulitzer ! - Curl of the Burl - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 9:48 am: Politics aside I am curious as to how many people have read some of the IPI’s lengthier posts on Facebook - and not the “vote yes” or “vote no” posts. Their human interest pieces are top-notch and their series on both food truck owners and people upset about property taxes are very solid. So even if you remove their far right bend on financial matters their stories and series are well-written and intriguing. - Demoralized - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 9:49 am: Shouldn’t you have to be a journalist to win a journalism award? This is like giving Trevor Noah a journalism award for The Daily Show. - The Captain - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 9:49 am: I saw this tweet over the weekend and wondered what it was in reference to, I guess this is the connection. - Cisco Kid - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 9:49 am: Viva fake news. - Reality Check - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 9:50 am: @Demoralized this is far worse than giving a comedian an award for journalism. This is giving a secretly funded political group an award for journalism. Trevor Noah isn’t taking money on the sly from interested parties. - cdog - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 9:52 am: Not a big fan of IPI, but… I will look for their Forgotten Illinois documentary. The subject of urban vs rural, is very interesting and important, as witnessed by the 2016 Pres election map. Folks should not have to be driven into over-crowded bubble-housing and the fragile existence that represents, just to find an opportunity to live the American Dream. A healthy rural economy needs to be promoted. IPI should continue with this. - Michelle Flaherty - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 9:52 am: I was unaware the Lisagors awarded lobbying efforts. So sad. - checkmate - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 9:57 am: Tell the headline club what you really think of them. President Stan Zoller, Lake Forest College president@headlineclub.org President-elect and VP of membership Ben Meyerson, Chicago Tribune membership@headlineclub.org VP of FOIA Mary Wisniewski, Chicago Tribune foia@headlineclub.org VP of Programming Brandis Friedman, WTTW programming@headlineclub.org Treasurer Patrick Boylan, Chicago Bulldog Media treasurer@HeadlineClub.org Secretary Susan S. Stevens, freelancer secretary@HeadlineClub.org - Collinsville Kevin - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 9:57 am: Rick Pearson hit the nail on the head. Having been subjected in today’s Belleville News-Democrat to both a Berg column and an IPI cartoon, I can attest their work doesn’t deserve any awards. - Scamp640 - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 9:59 am: I hear Alex Jones and Infowars is up for a Pulitzer. - Responsa - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 9:59 am: True journalism is pretty much dead everywhere, Rick Pearson, and it ain’t just the IPI that needs to be in the spotlight. - Winnin' - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 10:00 am: There is no doubt that the folks at IPI have talent. However, they are paid as propagandists rather than as journalists. They do not present a balanced product. Unfortunately, however, we may be seeing a trend in newspapers similar to what happened in in broadcast media. It’s about the buck, more and more. Newspaper publishers and editors throughout Illinois love them some IPI, because it is easy to “cut and paste” this stuff they get for free, rather than pay some news syndicate for rights to publish. The IPI continues to successfully pull the wool over the eyes — with funding from the staunchest of conservatives and a political agenda to match. - IRLJ - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 10:11 am: It doesn’t serve the protection of Journalism when the equivalent of political party newsletters are treated like journalists’ work. Lending the Lisagor name to the IPI is discouraging. - Roman - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 10:12 am: And here I thought journalism awards had reached an all time low when Mary Schmich won the Pulitzer. At least she works for an actual news gathering organization. What’s next, a Peabody award for Ron Sandack’s twitter account? - Grand Avenue - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 10:14 am: How do you win for both Independent and Affiliated? Shouldn’t they be mutually exclusive? - Streator Curmudgeon - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 10:19 am: Huh? They give awards for propaganda? - Chicago Cynic - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 10:19 am: Is Proft going to get an award next as outstanding news publisher????? This is insane. - Juice - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 10:23 am: Not that I necessarily believe that the IPI should be winning journalism awards, but I do have a serious question. Is Ferro really all that different? - cdog - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 10:24 am: Propaganda polls well, probably. Why? People have lost their critical thinking skills and can’t differentiate the message from the messenger. I have had so many discussions with people who completely stop thinking once they hear who is reporting about a topic. That is a complete failure of logic, a conclusion in the top rungs of fallacy. Propaganda polls well, and sells well, because the audience can’t discern the message from the messanger. In Illinois, the GOP has the most effective propaganda; at the national level, it is the NeoLib Dems/MSM that are having the propaganda hay day. /$.02 - RNUG - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 10:25 am: Saw the IPI press release over the weekend. First reaction was “now we’re giving awards for fake news”. But I didn’t go and see exactly which stories won the awards. I will admit that, every once in a while, they do a decent serious story or series that does deserve a read … even if it has a slant to it. I just wish they would let the serious stories stand on their own without any intentional bias added. - Liberty - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 10:26 am: Only politically correct journalism should win awards… - Amalia - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 10:30 am: well, when you give out so many awards that you are rivaling the Grammy categories listing, expect stuff like this to slip through the cracks. Goofy and dangerous. - Rich Miller - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 10:31 am: ===But I didn’t go and see exactly which stories won the awards=== One of the awards was for best individual blog. So it wasn’t about a specific post or story. - Redraider - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 10:35 am: Are we sure that IPI didn’t get the awards confused with tha Liesomemore awards - checkmate - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 10:36 am: @Liberty correction - political organizations funded by Governor Rauner should not win awards. - Aldyth - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 10:55 am: They certainly deserve a Fickle Finger of Fate award. - don the legend - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 11:12 am: Poll question. IPI is to a journalism award as _______ is to _______. Rauner is to Lincoln. - Chicago 20 - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 11:22 am: I guess this confirms that the Illinois Policy Institute stories are on the same plane as the Chicago Tribune’s. - Anonymous - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 11:26 am: “Dogs and cats living together.” - City Zen - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 11:32 am: We’ve got a governor dropping g’s and a journalist adding t’s. - Louis G Atsaves - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 11:38 am: In changing media times the IPI has been publishing thoughtful pieces on issues of concern. Whether you agree or disagree with them, they are steadily improving. As they get taken more seriously how will they (better) fit in the world of journalism? Some newspapers started as partisan political rags funded by yesterday’s version of “dark money.” Is this the pot calling the kettle? - City Zen - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 11:42 am: ==Some newspapers started as partisan political rags funded by yesterday’s version of “dark money.”== Likewise, try and find any financial information regarding Illinois AFL-CIO. - Generic Drone - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 11:50 am: Best award money can buy! - Springfieldish - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 12:07 pm: Louis: In changing media times, the IPI has been publishing shallow, cherry-picked pieces of narrow focus to promote their agenda. There, I fixed it for you. - ILGOV2018 - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 12:54 pm: How is this even possible? They are not a news organization? - don the legend - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 1:06 pm: Imagine Munger talking to Rauner: And we have newspaper people on the payroll, don’t we, Bruce? [Bruce nods] Munger: And they might like a story like that. - RNUG - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 1:30 pm: == One of the awards was for best individual blog. So it wasn’t about a specific post or story. == Hell, Rich … Cap Fax should have won that one! - 47th Ward - Monday, May 15, 17 @ 2:17 pm: ===try and find any financial information regarding Illinois AFL-CIO.=== What do you mean? Like a membership list? Let’s see, plumbers, carpenters, teachers, iron workers, pipe fitters, electricians… I mean, I don’t have everybody’s name or contact info, lol, but I’ve met a lot of their members. I don’t know if I’ve ever met an IPI donor though. How could I found out, assuming I was curious? The “well that side does it too” argument is childish and lazy, especially when it’s wrong. - City Zen - Tuesday, May 16, 17 @ 8:40 am: @47th Ward - I can tell you a lot about the plumbers, carpenters, teachers, iron workers, pipe fitters, electricians unions because they file reports with the US Department of Labor. So I will ask again, tell me financial info about AFL-CIO. Are you too “childish and lazy” to figure it out, or just wrong? - Anonymous - Tuesday, May 16, 17 @ 8:42 am: The Lisagore Award used to mean something. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.