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Know someone who works for The New York York Times Company who's done a particularly stellar job this year? Has this employee has exemplified "a commitment to [the] Company's Core Purpose, Core Values and Rules of the Road"? Did he or she did so while "contend[ing] with numerous journalistic challenges — such as, [sic] the continuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the devastation as a result of Hurricane Katrina, Lance Armstrong's seventh Tour de France victory and the controversial claims of a South Korean cloning scientist"? And, most important, was all that accomplished while "adapt[ing] to a changing media landscape with speed while maintaining a disciplined approach to costs"?

Yes?

Well, then clearly your friend should be nominated for a 2006 Punch Award, named in honor of Times Company chairman emeritus Arthur Sulzberger Jr., who, according to the announcement, lives by all those above-mentioned principles. The nominations are open till March 10, and the award ain't nothing: 10 percent of base salary for an individual winner; $5,000 per person for a winning team.

On the other hand, if your Times Company friend instead spent 2005 making awkward jokes at inopportune moments, obstinately clinging to lost causes without really considering whether the cause deserved so much support, and contributing strongly to a stagnant stock price, the just sit tight. We're sure the Pinch Awards will be coming along soon enough.

The full announcement — sent to staffers at the Times, Globe, Trib, and other Times Company properties — is after the jump.

From: NYTIMES MAIL
To: AFFILIATES@nytimes.com; ALL GLOBE'S ; ALL IHTNEWS ; ALL NYTNET ; ALL PRESS DEMOCRAT'S ; NY TIMES INTERNET ; NY TIMES NOTES
Sent: Fri, 10 Feb 2006 03:36:49 -0500
Subject: From Arthur & Janet: Call for Punch Award Nominations

Dear Colleagues,

In 2005 the staff of The New York Times Company once again achieved both editorial and business excellence and our accomplishments have been publicly applauded repeatedly. Now it is time for our organization to recognize the outstanding work of our colleagues with nominations for our own Punch Sulzberger Award.

Five years ago, we established the "Punch Award" tradition, in honor of our Chairman emeritus, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, to recognize the outstanding contributions of our staff members that best exemplify a commitment to our Company's Core Purpose, Core Values and Rules of the Road — all of which embody the principles that he lives by. And each year we have been very proud to recognize the work of teams and individuals that met these high standards and distinguished themselves among their colleagues.

We expect that there should be an abundance of possible nominees. After all, throughout this year we have had to contend with numerous journalistic challenges — such as, the continuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the devastation as a result of Hurricane Katrina, Lance Armstrong's seventh Tour de France victory and the controversial claims of a South Korean cloning scientist. At the same time, we have had to adapt to a changing media landscape with speed while maintaining a disciplined approach to costs and continually enhancing our offerings around the Company. And we have done so, finding new and innovative ways to provide our high-quality journalism, introduce new products and leverage our brands across multiple platforms to achieve our long-term growth goals.

So, starting today and continuing through Friday, March 10, 2006, we'd like you to nominate a colleague or a team of colleagues for the 2005 Punch Award recipient. You can do this by completing a nomination form. Click on http://web.nytimes.com/employeeconnect to visit Employee Connection on the intranet and download the form, which has instructions on how to proceed. Please return the completed form to your local human resources department by March 10th. If you have any questions about making a nomination, please contact your human resources department.

Bear in mind that, while it is truly an honor to receive this award, winners also get a significant honorarium. For an individual, the award is equal to 10% of his or her annual base salary and for a team (limited to 10 employees), the award is $5,000 per team member.

Thank you for supporting the Punch Award program. We wish all the nominees the best of luck and look forward to presenting this award to the winners in April 2006.

Arthur & Janet