2004 News: SABEW Best in Business Winners Announced

Decade of Excellence

Contact: Greg McCune, contest co-chairman, (312) 408-8701
Carrie Paden, SABEW executive director, (573) 882-8985

April 2, 2004

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The Society of American Business
Editors and Writers (SABEW) has named the winners in its 10th annual Best in Business contest, which recognizes the best overall publications, as well as best Breaking News, Spot Enterprise and Special Project reporting in business journalism during 2003.

SABEW received a record 735 entries from daily newspapers, business weekly newspapers, magazines, wire services and business news online sites, a 22 percent increase over last year’s 604 entries.

The Wall Street Journal led all news organizations, winning awards for Breaking News, Spot Enterprise and Special Projects. The 11 news organizations that won two awards each were the Akron Beacon Journal, The Atlanta Business Chronicle, Bloomberg News, Crain's Chicago Business, The (Eugene, Ore.) Register-Guard, The Newark Star-Ledger, The (Portland) Oregonian, The San Jose Mercury News, The Seattle Times, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer and The Washington Post.

Entries from 23 daily and weekly newspapers were named Best in Business winners for overall excellence, and 12 were recognized with certificates of merit. The San Jose Mercury News won for overall excellence for the fifth straight year. USA Today and The (Portland) Oregonian won awards for their sections for the fourth consecutive year. The Washington Post, the News & Observer of Raleigh (N.C.),Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, and Crain's Chicago Business won for the third straight year. Winners for the second consecutive year were the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the Business Journal of Greater Milwaukee, The New York Post and The Newark Star-Ledger.

Fifteen news organizations were named winners for Breaking News coverage. This category recognizes superior work produced under tight deadlines. Repeat winners from last year in this category were Bloomberg News, Reuters America, The San Jose Mercury News and The Wall Street Journal.

Thirteen news organizations were named winners for Spot Enterprise, which honors a single story that is a scoop, an exclusive interview or a timely analysis. Repeat winners in this category were Bloomberg News,The (Portland) Oregonian and The Wall Street Journal.

In the 2-year-old Special Projects category, 16 news organizations were honored for a series of stories that looked at an issue in depth. Three news organizations received certificates of merit in this category. Repeat winners were The Atlanta Business Chronicle, The Los Angeles Business Journal, The Orlando Sentinel, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.

The SABEW Best in Business contest was started in1995 to help set standards and recognize role models for outstanding business journalism. About 100 newspapers entered the contest that year, sending in copies of six sections and special projects. A contest of weekly business publications was started in 1996. A year later, the contest expanded to include a Real Time media and Spot News. Breaking News debuted in 2001 and Special Projects in 2003.

Awards will be presented Sunday, May 2, in Fort Worth, Texas, during SABEW's 41st annual conference. Judges’ comments for all winners can be found at www.sabew.org. Additional information about the conference and SABEW also is available at that site as well.

Best in Business winners for overall excellence, by category and listed in alphabetical order are:

GIANT Newspapers (average daily circulation 375,001 and above)
Newark Star-Ledger
New York Post
San Francisco Chronicle
USA Today
Washington Post
Certificate of Merit: Cleveland Plain Dealer

LARGE Newspapers (circulation between 250,001 and 375,000)
The (Portland) Oregonian
Rocky Mountain News
Sacramento Bee
San Jose Mercury News
The Seattle Times
Certificates of Merit: Detroit News, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and South Florida SunSentinel.

MEDIUM Newspapers (circulation between 125,001 and 250,000)
Hartford Courant
The (Raleigh) News & Observer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Certificates of Merit: Akron Beacon Journal, Fresno Bee

SMALL Newspapers (circulation 125,000 and below)
The Boise (Idaho) Statesman
The Roanoke (Va.) Times
The Rockford (Ill.) Register-Star
The Santa Rosa (Calif.) Press Democrat
The Scranton (Pa.) Times-Tribune
Certificates of Merit: The Portland (Maine) Press, The Ann Arbor (Mich.) News, The (Tucson) Arizona Daily Star

WEEKLY Business Newspapers
The Atlanta Business Chronicle
Crain’s Chicago Business
The Dallas Business Journal
The Business Journal of Kansas City
The Business Journal Serving Greater Milwaukee
Certificates of Merit: Crain’s Chicago Business, The Dallas Business Journal, The Los Angeles Business Journal.

Best in Business winners for Breaking News coverage, by category and listed in alphabetical order:

GIANT Newspapers
The Boston Globe: “John Hancock Sold for $10.9b”
The Dallas Morning News: “AMR’s Carty Resigns”
The Wall Street Journal: “The Day that Grasso Quit”

LARGE Newspapers
Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “American Dodges Bankruptcy Filing”
San Jose Mercury News: “Tech Banker Faces Charges”
The Seattle Times: “Boeing Shakeup”

MEDIUM Newspapers
The Charlotte Observer: “Pillowtex Folds”
The Contra Costa Times: “Oracle Bids for PeopleSoft”
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: “We Are Ready”

SMALL Newspapers
The Burlington (Vt.) Free Press: “IBM Cuts 500 Essex Jobs”
The Everett (Wash.) Herald: “Everett Wins”

WEEKLY Newspapers
Boston Business Journal: “Fleet Aftermath”

REAL-TIME News Organizations
Bloomberg News: “Sandy Weill Steps Down”
Dow Jones Newswires: “Canary Capital Settlement, Sept. 3, 2003”
Reuters America: “Mad Cow”

Best in Business winners for Spot Enterprise, by category and listed in alphabetical order:

GIANT Newspapers
The Arizona Republic: “Overhead Runs High at Coyote Charities”
The Newark Star-Ledger: “How Fake Lipitor Was Sold”
The Wall Street Journal: “Grasso is NYSE’s $10 Million Man”

LARGE Newspapers
The (Portland) Oregonian: “Winning LaBron James”
The San Diego Union Tribune: “An Internet Prescription for Disaster?”

MEDIUM Newspapers
The Akron Beacon Journal: “NRC Worker Now at Utility”
The (Columbia, S.C.) State: “Regulators Knew of Problems of Carolina Investors in ‘99”
The Allentown (Pa.) Morning Call: “Many Have No Cable TV Choice”

SMALL Newspapers
The (Eugene, Ore.) Register-Guard: “Company made millions in profits from land deals”

WEEKLY Newspapers
Charlotte Business Journal: “Strategy Out of Gas”
Crain’s Chicago Business: “Paper’s Money, Lord Black’s Loot”
Modern Healthcare: “It’s More Than Just Tenet”

REAL-TIME News Organizations
Bloomberg News: “Reed, fluent on Ile de Re, Ponders Reforms for NYSE”

Best in Business winners for Special Projects, by category and listed in alphabetical order:

GIANT Newspapers
The Wall Street Journal: “The Hidden Injustices of Hospital Bills”
The Washington Post: “Russian Hackers”
Certificate of Merit: The Associated Press, “Illegal Workers”

LARGE Newspapers
Detroit Free Press: “Crown Vic”
Orange County Register: “Hospital Report Card”
Orlando Sentinel: “Building Homes”

MEDIUM Newspapers
Akron Beacon-Journal: “Legacy of Decline”
The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal: “Habitat: Borrowed Dreams”
The Omaha World-Herald: “On the Job of Last Resort”

SMALL Newspapers
Cape Cod Times: “Streets of Serro”
The (Eugene, Ore.) Register Guard: “Unlucky Breaks”
Wichita (Kansas) Eagle: “Shifting Winds”

WEEKLY Newspapers
Atlanta Business Chronicle: “Risky Business: Danger in the Aisles”
Los Angeles Business Journal: “L.A.’s Hidden Economy”
Certificates of Merit: The Business Journal (Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point, North Carolina), “Health Care: Where the Jobs Are”; and Washington Business Journal, “All Packed Up – Now, Where to Go”.

REAL-TIME News Organizations
Knight Ridder News Service: “Risky Rx”
MSN Money: “Company Focus”
TheStreet.com: “eBay”