I don’t like to lose. Sure, you must show grace in defeat, but in reality, the teeth are grinding a bit and the insides are churning.

I sure would have loved for all three of our finalists for the Jesse H. Neal business media awards to have won; it would have made the trip to New York City for the ceremony all that much sweeter. But we did win Best Podcast, and hey, being nominated that highly among hundreds of other entries is one hell of a nod to our work.

Along with the MeatingPod, we entered original research and reporting on Mouth Behavior — how people manipulate food differently and how that impacts their enjoyment of meat — for Best Series; and The Big Gulp, a deep dive into how the meat industry is addressing water scarcity, for Best Subject-related Package.

It was fun to see all of our meat coverage layouts displayed amongst such a wide array of fascinating industries, even if we didn’t win in every one of those categories.

And I have to remind myself that we don’t produce award-winning work for the sake of winning awards. That’s not our guide, when we set out on a story idea. Our goal is to produce compelling content that helps industry members do their jobs even better amidst ever-changing market dynamics and a host of challenges.

Beyond that, I’m also reminded of how proud — and lucky — I am to be working with a group of journalists and editors who value quality in the work they do every day, who are always willing to invest their time into new projects, and who support each other when those projects pretty much consume their lives.

Awards are a cherry on top of the work — a nice to have. But the enjoyment comes from the work itself, and the people with whom that work is done.

Win or lose, that's something to celebrate.

Can't win 'em all

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