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. 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.
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. "Woman of the Year" awards are also given. Junior League chapters have long given "Woman of the Year" awards. 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.
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, an organization that has given the award annually since about 2005. Azerbaijan Person of the Year Ethiopian Person of the Year Financial Times Person of the Year 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 Onions Person of the Year is an award given by The Onion, a satirical website Time Person of the Year – interest in nominees and final selection of the Time magazine's Person of the Year award is widely covered in other media.
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)