Person of the Year

Henry Kissinger holding onto a copy of Time upon being chosen its Man of the Year 1972 with Richard Nixon

Person of the Year or Man of the Year is an award given to an individual by any type of organization. Most often, it is given by a newspaper or other news outlet to annually recognize a public person. Such awards have typically been awarded to one person, near or after the end of a calendar year. The awardee is usually someone widely known via a news media's audience. A local newspaper typically gives a Person of the Year award to a local individual. However, prominent Person of the Year awards have been given to persons well beyond the scope of a given news market, to animals (Secretariat), to two or more persons in the event of a tie, and to groups of persons whose membership is not clear (Ebola fighters).^[1] Also the award is presented annually by some organizations but may be a one-off or occasional event for others.

The award can be facetious or serious. The chosen person is usually someone who has been notably influential or prominent during the year and could also be a hero or villain. Unlike most awards, it is externally oriented; the award is given to someone who is not a member and may have no association with the awarding organization. A local award's selection process can be seen to be politically influenced, as dramatized in a "Parks and Recreation" television show episode.^[2]

Variations on the theme include "Business Person of the Year", or "Small Business Person of the Year", or "Entrepreneur of the Year", commonly awarded by local chambers of commerce or other economic boosters.^[3] "Woman of the Year" awards are also given. Junior League chapters have long given "Woman of the Year" awards.^[4] The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society gives "Man & Woman of the Year" awards to fundraising volunteers locally and nationally in the U.S. each year, terming each dollar raised during a 10-week period to be a vote.^[5]

Awards

Person of the Year

Notable examples include:

• Australian of the Year
• Aviation Week & Space Technology – Vladimir Putin was named person of the year by Aviation Week & Space Technology,^[6] an organization that has given the award annually since about 2005.^[7]
• Ethiopian Person of the Year
• Financial Times Person of the Year – the 2014 Financial Times Person of the Year award went to Apple executive Tim Cook.^[8]
• Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year
• Le Monde Person of the Year
• MusiCares Person of the Year
• New Zealander of the Year Awards
• The Onion’s Person Of The Year is an award given by The Onion, a satirical website
• Time magazine Person of the Year – interest in nominees and final selection of the Time Magazine's Person of the Year award is very prominent in the U.S. news and internationally as well; it is widely covered in other media. In 2014 Time's award went to Ebola fighters.

Man of the Year

• DHL Delivery Man of the Year Award, baseball reliever pitchers
• Hasty Pudding Man of the Year, for entertainers
• IHL Man of the Year, awarded by the International Hockey League
• NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, basketball
• Railroader of the Year, awarded by Railway Age magazine recognizing contributions to North American rail transport
• Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award, baseball reliever pitchers
• Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, National Football League

See also

• Athlete of the Year
• Footballer of the Year (disambiguation)
• Man of the Year (disambiguation), includes numerous films named after the award
• Woman of the Year, 1942 film
• Woman of the Year (disambiguation)

References

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