{"id":22036,"date":"2019-06-17T05:59:16","date_gmt":"2019-06-17T10:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/?p=22036"},"modified":"2019-06-17T06:55:53","modified_gmt":"2019-06-17T11:55:53","slug":"nomination-fee-casts-shadow-crains-40-40-honor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2019\/06\/17\/nomination-fee-casts-shadow-crains-40-40-honor\/","title":{"rendered":"Nomination fee casts shadow on Crain\u2019s \u201840 Under 40\u2019 honor"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/a> Crain Communications<\/p><\/div>\n

Every year since 1989 I used to look forward to reading \u201c40 Under 40,\u201d <\/a>an enlightening feature profiling a diverse array of up-and-coming business and civic leaders in the Chicago area, chosen by the editors of \u00a0Crain\u2019s Chicago Business.<\/a><\/p>\n

For the fortunate 40 singled out each year, the designation by Crain\u2019s was as much a prediction of their future success as it was an endorsement of what they\u2019d already accomplished in their 20s and 30s.<\/p>\n

Many of those who made the list over the years considered it a signal honor in their careers. (Among the \u201crising stars\u201d named to the first class 30 years ago were Oprah Winfrey, David Axelrod, Jonathon Brandmeier, Linda Johnson Rice, Edwin Eisendrath, Colleen Dudgeon, John Rogers and Marc Schulman.)<\/p>\n

But I\u2019ve come to view it differently since Crain\u2019s began charging a hefty \u201cnomination fee\u201d to be considered for \u201c40 Under 40.\u201d It suddenly turned what had been an open process based on merit into a money-making enterprise for the company.<\/p>\n

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Crain's 40 Under 40<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cTo submit someone for consideration, there is a nomination fee of $199,<\/a> which must be paid before the nomination can be formally submitted,\u201d according to entry rules published online. \u201cThe nomination fee ensures that your nominee will be considered for inclusion in the final published story; it does not ensure your nominee will automatically be included.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the change was introduced in 2017 \u2014 when I first complained<\/a> about it \u2014 Crain\u2019s bosses have insisted that it\u2019s not a case of \u201cpay to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs is standard for many respected award programs that require significant resources to produce, such as the Chicago Headline Club\u2019s Lisagor Awards and others, there is an entry fee for Crain\u2019s \u201840 Under 40,\u2019\u201d publisher and executive editor Jim Kirk told me. \u201cThe revenue generated by these fees also helps Crain\u2019s provide the high level of reporting our readers expect.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs has always been the case, our reporters and editors employ their deep knowledge of the business community to select many honorees for 40s every year who have not gone through the formal nomination process. We carefully consider every paid nomination as well. That combination gives us one of the most compelling rosters of business talent honored in Chicago during any given year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also continue to run many award programs with no nominating fee, such as our Notable executives series<\/a>, and evaluate the mix of such programs on an ongoing basis,\u201d Kirk said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s precisely because I have such high respect for Kirk, editor Ann Dwyer and the ethical standards they represent that I find it so disheartening. I wish they\u2019d reconsider before their \u201c40 Under 40\u201d franchise loses any more credibility.<\/p>\n

Crain\u2019s will announce this year\u2019s honorees November 15.<\/p>\n

Friday's comment of the day:<\/a> Tom Langmyer:<\/strong> WBBM\u2019s record revenue actually occurred around 2008 when it hovered around $50 million. They are on top of the market at roughly $39 million. The Chicago market overall, as a percentage, is down more than many markets. That said, WBBM is a powerhouse and is a great source for<\/em> local news and information. No journalists were harmed in the writing of Rob\u2019s story . . .<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every year since 1989 I used to look forward to reading \u201c40 Under 40,\u201d an enlightening feature profiling a diverse array of up-and-coming business and civic leaders in the Chicago area, chosen by the editors of \u00a0Crain\u2019s Chicago Business. For the fortunate 40 singled out each year, the designation by Crain\u2019s was as much a... Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22036"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22036"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22053,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22036\/revisions\/22053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}