Sam Pollak's New York statewide (25,000 circulation-under) awards at The Daily Star:
2005-2006: New York State Associated Press Association - First Place for Columns.
2004-2005: New York Newspaper Publishers Association - First Place for Distinguished Editorial Writing.
2004-2005: New York State Associated Press Association - First Place for Columns.
2004-2005: New York State Associated Press Association - Third Place for Editorial Writing.
2002-2003: New York Newspaper Publishers Association - First Place for Distinguished Editorial Writing.
2002-2003 New York State Associated Press Association - First Place for Editorial Writing.
2002-2003 New York State Associated Press Association - Second Place for Column Writing.
2000-2001: New York Newspaper Publishers Association - First Place for Distinguished Editorial Writing.
2000-2001 New York State Associated Press Association - Second Place for Editorial Writing.
1999-2000: New York Newspaper Publishers Association - First Place for Distinguished Column Writing.
He was born in the borough of Queens, N.Y., and began his journalism career at age 16 as a high school sports
correspondent for the Miami Beach (Fla.) Daily Sun. In return for working about 40 hours each week, he was paid $5.
Not $5 per hour, $5 per week. Looking back on the quality of those early efforts, he feels he was ridiculously OVERpaid.
Sam went on to become sports editor of that newspaper before attending the University of Texas at El Paso, where he was a
teaching assistant in the journalism department. He went on to work for the Hollywood (Fla.) Sun-Tattler, the Miami News
and Dallas Times Herald before becoming sports editor of the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson, where in each of his five years
there the sports section was honored in the national Associated Press Sports Editors contest.
Sam went from there to the Dallas Morning News, where he was sports copy desk chief, then to the New Orleans Times-Picayune,
where he was sports managing editor. His next jobs were as deputy sports editor of The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, sports editor
of the Fresno Bee and an assistant managing editor of the Thomson L.A. News Group, consisting of the Pasadena Star-News,
Whittier Daily News and the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. The staffs under his direction won numerous local, state and national
awards at each newspaper.
In 1995, Sam became editor of the Portsmouth Herald in New Hampshire, where the newspaper under his direction won an
unprecedented number of New England Press Association, New England Newspaper Association and New Hampshire Press Association
awards, including General Excellence and Newspaper of the Year.
In January 1998, he became editor of The Daily Star. He took first place statewide in the 1999-2000 New York Newspaper
Publishers Association "Distinguished Column Writing" category for daily newspapers under 25,000 circulation. He followed
that up by winning the 2000-2001 statewide NYNPA contest for "Distinguished Editorial Writing."
Sam also placed second statewide in the 2000-2001 New York State Associated Press Association contest for Editorial
Writing in the 25,000-under circulation category.
In the 2002-2003 NYSAPA statewide contest, he placed first in Editorial Writing and second in Column Writing. He also won the
2002-2003 NYNPA statewide contest for "Distinguished Editorial Writing." In the 2004-2005 NYSAPA statewide contest, Sam took first place in
Column Writing and third place in Editorial Writing. In the 2004-2005 NYNPA statewide contest he took first place for "Distinguished Editorial Writing."
In the 2005-2006 NYSAPA statewide contest he took first place for the second consecutive year in Column Writing.
He has been married since 1978 to his wife, Julie. They have four children: Rachel, Penny, Sarah and Joseph. While in New
Orleans, he performed regularly at a standup comedy club. His hobbies include reading and exaggerating how good he is at
softball and basketball.
