2003 News: SABEW Best in Business Winners Announced

April 1, 2003
Contact:
Randy Picht, contest chairman, (717) 986-0225
Carrie Paden, SABEW executive director, (573) 882-8985

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Society of American Business Editors and Writers has named the winners in its ninth annual Best in Business contest, which recognizes the best overall publications and best breaking news, spot enterprise and in-depth reporting in business journalism during 2002.

A record 604 entries from daily newspapers, business weeklies, wire services and business news online sites were received, including 501stories or story packages in the news portion of the contest.

Last year, the contest received 570 total entries.

A new contest was added this year to honor comprehensive, long-term reporting efforts. The new “Projects” category attracted 151 entries. Seventeen publications received awards in the category and six received certificates of merit.

Among the topics covered by the winners were, not surprisingly, corporate malfeasance and muddled mega-mergers, but the judges also applauded efforts to explain professional shoplifting and expose corporate tax loopholes.

Other highlights of the contest included:

-- Nineteen daily or weekly publications were named Best in Business for overall excellence, and eight were recognized with certificates of merit. San Jose Mercury News won for the fourth straight year. USA TODAY and The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.) won for the third straight year. Four other papers were repeat winners including: The Dallas Morning News, The Washington Post, The Press-Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.), and Crain’s Chicago Business.

-- Ten news organizations were named Best in Business for breaking news coverage. This category recognizes news organizations that produced superior work under tight deadlines. Repeat winners were: The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH) and The Washington Post.

-- Sixteen were named Best in Business for Spot Enterprise, a category that honors work that is timely but provides a broader, more analytical look at an issue. Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal won for the third straight year. Repeat winners were: The Detroit News and Dow Jones Newswires.

The SABEW Best in Business contest was started in 1995 to help set standards and recognize role models for outstanding business journalism.

Awards will be presented Monday, April 28, at the Boston Globe auditorium, during SABEW's 40th annual convention. Winning sections will be on display at the Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston during the convention. Judges' comments for all winners will be available on April 15th at www.sabew.org. Additional information about the conference and SABEW is available at that site as well.

Best in Business winners for Overall Excellence, by category and listed in alphabetical order are:
(Judges could name up to five winners in each category)

GIANT: (General-interest newspapers with average daily circulation 375,001 and above):
- The Dallas Morning News
- The New York Post
- The Star-Ledger (Newark, N.J.)
- TheWashington Post
- USA TODAY
Certificates of Merit: Newsday, The Boston Globe
Judges: Rachel Beck, national business columnist, The Associated Press; Johnnie Roberts, senior writer, Newsweek; James W. Michaels, editor emeritus and Group Vice President/Editorial, Forbes

LARGE (Newspapers with circulation 250,001 -375,000):
- San Jose Mercury News
- The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.)
- The San Diego Union-Tribune
Certificate of Merit: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Judges: John Hillkirk, Managing Editor/Money, USA TODAY, Bill Grueskin, Managing Editor, The Wall Street Journal Online, and Winnie O'Kelley, Deputy Business Editor, The New York Times.

MID-SIZED (Newspapers with circulation 125,001-250,000):
- Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.)
- The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)
- The State (Columbia, S.C.)
Certificates of Merit: Daily Herald (Arlington, Ill.), The Des Moines Register (Des Moines, Iowa)
- Judges: Dale Gibson, Managing Editor, Triangle Business Journal; Richard Barron, Business Editor, Greensboro News & Record; Charles Fishman, Senior Editor, Fast Company magazine.

SMALL (Newspapers with circulation up to 125,000):
- Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, Ariz.)
- Florida Today (Melbourne, Fla.)
- The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.)
Certificate of Merit: Fort Wayne News-Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Ind.), Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, Ken.), The Times of Northwest Indiana (Munster, Ind.)
- Judges: Thom Kupper, Economics Reporter, The San Diego Union-Tribune; John Hollon, Editor, San Diego Business Journal; Bob Keefe, national correspondent, Cox Newspapers.

BUSINESS WEEKLIES:
- Atlanta Business Chronicle
- Crain's Chicago Business
- Crain’s Detroit Business
- Los Angeles Business Journal
- The Business Journal Serving Greater Milwaukee
Judges: Dorothy Abernathy, Virginia Associated Press Bureau Chief; Rich Martin, Managing Editor, The Roanoke Times; Chris Roush, Assistant Professor and
Director, Carolina Business News Initiative, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina.

NEWS CONTEST

Best in Business Breaking News winners, by category and in alphabetical order are: (Judges could name up to three winners in each category)

GIANT (Newspapers with circulation over 375,001):
- The Plain Dealer, “TRW,” by Thomas W. Gerdel, Mary Vanac, John Funk, Chris Seper
- The Wall Street Journal, “Coverage of Enron,” by staff
- The Washington Post, “Worldcom charged with fraud,” by staff

LARGE (Newspapers with circulation 250,001 -375,000):
- San Jose Mercury News, “HP claims victory in COMPAQ merger,” by Therese Poletti, Tracy Seipel, Michelle Quinn, Dan Gillmor, Sue McAllister, Elise Ackerman, Scott Herhold, Deborah Lohse
- The Detroit News, “Can Kmart lure shoppers back?” by staff

MID-SIZE (Newspapers with circulation 125,001-250,000):
- The Buffalo News, “Adelphia scandal,” by Jerry Zremski, Tim Graham, Dan Herbeck, Fred O. Williams, Holly Auer

SMALL (Newspapers with circulation up to 125,000):
- Durham Herald-Sun, “Blue Cross racks up record $85.6M,” by Jeff Zimmer
- Durham Herald-Sun, “Swifty Serve Corp. is in fight for its life,” by Jeff Zimmer

WEEKLIES
- Inside the Navy, “Shipbuilding giants may swap LDP-17 and DDG-51 work worth billions” and “Responding to Lott, DOD starts funding LHD-9 and one more DDG-51,” by Christopher Castelli

REAL-TIME
- Bloomberg News, “Treasury’s O’Neil would oppose additional IMF aid for Brazil” by Brendan Murray
- Reuters, “Bush’s economic housecleaning,” by Adam Entous, Glenn Somerville, Randall Mikkelsen, Caren Bohan, Steve Holland, Anna Willard

Best in Business Breaking News Judges: Josh Mills, Director of the Master’s Business Journalism program, Baruch College/CUNY; Stephanie N. Mehta, reporter, Fortune; Marcia Vickers, Wall Street editor, Business Week.

Best in Business Spot Enterprise winners: (Judges could name up to three winners in each category)
GIANT (Newspapers with circulation over 375,001):
- Newsweek, “How it all fell apart,” by Johnnie L. Roberts
- The Denver Post, “Seven steps to solvency,” by Kris Hudson
- The Wall Street Journal, “Uncooking the books,” by Susan Pulliam and Deborah Solomon

LARGE (Newspapers with circulation 250,001-375,000):
- Rocky Mountain News, “Qwest’s rise and fall,” by Lou Kilzer, David Milstead and Jeff Smith
- The Detroit News, “Why Ford sacked a superstar dealer,” by Bill Vlasic and Mark Truby
- The Oregonian, “A rising star's rapid descent,” by Jeff Manning

Certificate of Merit:
- Rocky Mountain News, “Wild, wild Qwest,” by Lou Kilzer, David Milstead and Jeff Smith

MID-SIZED (Newspapers with circulation 125,001-250,000):
- The Des Moines Register, “Paycheck to paycheck,” by Chad Graham
- The Providence Journal, “Priced out,” by Lynn Arditi
- The Virginian-Pilot, ”eModel: Cashing in on dreams of glamour,” by Joanne Kimberlin

SMALL (Newspapers with circulation up to 125,000):
- Anchorage Daily News, “On the rocks: Alaska's historic salmon industry faces unprecedented threat” by Wesley Loy
- The Burlington Free Press, “Anatomy of a scandal,” by Cadence Mertz
- York Daily Record, “Fields of danger: Farm life can be deadly,” by Michelle Starr

Certificate of Merit:
- Riverfront Times, “Nasty boys,” by Geri L. Dreiling

WEEKLIES:
- Crain's Detroit Business, “A deal in black and white,” by Brent Snavely
- Orlando Business Journal, “Big bucks, small town, bond haven,” by Noelle Haner-Dorr

REAL-TIME:
- Bloomberg News, “Edison Schools boosts revenues with funds not received,” by David Evans
- Bloomberg News, “U.S. officials leak agriculture forecasts to few,” by Joe Carroll
- Dow Jones Newswires, “Critics think Stanley Works may reconsider Bermuda move,” by Phyllis Plitch

Certificate of Merit:
- CNET News.com, “The Google gods,” by Stefanie Olsen

Spot Enterprise Judges:
(Large, small and real-time)
Barbara Nagy, Business Reporter, The Hartford Courant; Vickie Elmer, Deputy Business Editor, Newsday; Robert Weisman, Technology Editor, The Boston Globe.

(Giant, medium and weekly)

Richard Jenkins, executive editor, MSN Money; Jay Greene, Seattle bureau chief, Business Week; Michael Totty, news editor/technology special sections, The Wall Street Journal.

Best in Business Projects winners: (Judges could name up to three winners in each category)

GIANT (Newspapers with circulation over 375,001):
- The Denver Post, “Unmasking Qwest,” by Kris Hudson and Miles Moffeit
- The Wall Street Journal, “What’s wrong?” by staff
- The Washington Post, “AOL’s advertising deals,” by Alec Klein

Certificate of Merit:
- Chicago Tribune, “Auditor often fail to warn of bankruptcies,” by Andrew Countryman and Janet Kidd Stewart
- Dallas Morning News, “Digikids,” by Alan Goldstein, Vikas Bajaj, Doug Bedell , Brendan M. Case, Gregory Katz
-
LARGE (Newspapers with circulation 250,001 -375,000):
- The Oregonian, “Prosperity lost,” by Catherine Trevison, Ted Sickinger, Gail Kinsey Hill, Brent Hunsberger
- The Orlando Sentinel, “A region adrift,” by Scott Maxwell
- The San Jose Mercury News, “Rich man, poor company,” by Chris O'Brien and Jack Davis

MID-SIZE (Newspapers with circulation 125,001-250,000):
- The Charlotte Observer, “Despair in mill town,” by Tony Mecia, Charles Lunan, Amber Veverka, Sharon E. White, Peter St. Onge, Rick Rothacker
- The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.), “Enemy in the aisles,” by Joanne Kimberlin

Certificates of Merit:
- The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.), “Rodale: Roots of change,” by Gregory Karp
- The Providence Journal, “End of the line,” by Lynn Arditi

SMALL (Newspapers with circulation up to 125,000):
- Corpus Christi Caller-Times, “Malpractice insurance goes under the microscope,” by Naomi Snyder
- The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.), “Leaving Louisiana,” by Sara Bongiorni, Chad Calder, Chris Gautreau
- The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.), “From vine to wine,” by Ted Appel

WEEKLIES
- Atlanta Business Chronicle, “Georgia’s corporate tax giveaway,” by Meredith Jordan
- Cincinnati Business Courier, “Road to nowhere,” by Dan Monk, Lucy May
- Los Angeles Business Journal, "Rise and fall of global pipe dream," by Michael Stremfel, Anthony Palazzo, John Brinsley, Deborah Belgum, Mark Lacter

Certificates of Merit:
- Orange County Business Journal (Calif.), “OC’s cash economy,” by Chris Cziborr, Rajiv Vyas, Daniel D. Williams, Vita Reed, Michael Lyster
- South Florida Business Journal, “Inside the PSC/SUPRA,” by Kevin Gale, Alexis Muellner

REAL-TIME
- CBS MarketWatch, “Capitalism’s crossroads” by staff
- CNET News.com, “Cracking the nest egg,” by Sandeep Junnarkar
- CNET News.com, “A mortal Microsoft,” by Mike Ricciuti, Alorie Gilbert, Joe Wilcox
Projects Judges:
(Giant, mid-sized and weekly categories)
Michael Sante, Business Editor, Detroit Free Press; Ben Burns, Director of Journalism, Dept. of Communications, Wayne State University; Philip Nussel, Business Editor, The Detroit News
(Large, small and real-time)
Judges: Mark Hester, Business Editor, The Oregonian; Byron Acohido, technology reporter, USA Today; Roger Oglesby, Publisher, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. (Hester did not participate in the Large judging.)
The Society of American Business Editors and Writers, Inc., headquartered at the Missouri School of Journalism, is an association of more than 3,000 business journalists in North America. Formed in 1964 to promote superior coverage of business and economic events and issues, it is the only educational business journalism association for editors and writers.