| ByChristine Steele
Tim Lynch, senior copy chief, of theLos Angeles Times has been named the 2006 Robinson Prizewinner, the second recipient to receive the award from theAmerican Copy Editors Society. A stunned Lynch,who was not told of the award in advance, received a trophyand $3,000 check at the ACES conference banquet on Friday, April 20,in Miami.
Lynch won over judges with the broad range of accomplishmentslisted in his nomination: he's a manager who works in thetrenches; he's an advocate for the copy desk and a leaderin his newsroom; he is creative and forward-thinking; he has embraced newtechnology; he's an educator outside the newsroom and a teacher on the job;he's a sharp copy editor and headline writer.
| J.A. Montalbano (AlbuquerqueTribune) was the head of the judges committee thatchose Tim Lynch for the second annual Robinson Prize. | | Lynch’s supervisor, Clark P. Stevens, chief of copy desksat the Los Angeles Times, said that Lynch does not needsupervising, but he bears watching for what you can learnfrom him.
“You have to watch closely, because in being outstandinghe conducts himself with a personal grace that keeps himfrom standing out,” Stevens said.
“His guidance has enhanced the skills and careers of manypeople at the Times and inspired the careers of promisingjournalists who will staff the newsrooms (and Web sites)of the future.”
Jennifer Karmon, national copy editor, also at the Times,said that Lynch is the best headline writer at the paper,with an understated elegance you notice most in its absence.
“When someone is filling in for him on A1, the ColumnOne headlines lack musicality, or the headlines on “brights”have flash but not substance, or the news headlines justmiss the mark. He has an uncanny ability to zero in on exactly whatthe reader needs to know about any given story,” Karmonwrote in a letter of recommendation.
Lynch puts in countless hours and routinely scheduleshimself for split days off so that other people’s daysoff aren’t split. And he spends a substantial part of hisannual vacations re-energizing by indulging his passion: teaching seminarsin copy editing.
“Tim Lynch is extraordinary,” said Marcy Springer, LosAngeles Times editor and news executive. “With one morearm, he could run the place.”
In what he does for his colleagues, for his paper andhis profession, Lynch embodies excellence over the wholerange of skills and contributions in editing. As Springer said,for the copy desks and all of us, he is guru, pilot and friend. Christine Steeleis a senior copy editor with The Capital Group Companiesin Los Angeles. | 
| Congratulating Lynch after the banquet are, from left, Jason Morris (Chicago Tribune), J.A. Montalbano (AlbuquerqueTribune), Barbara Tarshes (Riverside, Calif., Press-Enterprise),Steve Eames (Los Angeles Times), Aubespin scholarMatthew Dulin (University of Houston) and Clark P. Stevens (Los Angeles Times). | | RETURN TOWWW.COPYDESK.ORG |
