WRKO recently ran their "Next Great Political Blogger" contest. Almost 200 entries were received. There were nine finalists and two grand prize winners. The two ultimate winners won a paid part-time gig blogging for WRKO.  I was one of the nine finalists, but I wasn't one of the two winners of the contest.

Putting on a contest like this is a major endeavor. All of the blog entries received had to be read and judged by WRKO's on-air talent, including Howie Carr, Todd Feinburg, Charley Manning and Tom Finneran.  They narrowed the field down to nine bloggers.

Each of the nine remaining bloggers wrote two additional blog entries, which all had to be formatted and set up to allow for online voting.  No small task.  Thanks to Patricia at Entercom for doing that work.

I see a contest like this as WRKO's way of giving back to the community. The Howie Carrs and Tom Finnerans of the world have already succeeded in the world of media. They have nothing to gain by judging a contest like this.  But they showed a lot of class by taking the time to provide a forum for up-and-comers.

I want to thank WRKO, Entercom, and Advantage Home Medical Equipment, who sponsored the contest. The contest took a lot of effort on their part, and they also heavily publicized it.

Of course I wish I had won whole shebang, but the contest was a lot of fun for me just the same.

Thanks, WRKO!