Business News has won five awards at the international Alliance of Area Business Publishers awards, announced at a gala event in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday.
The AABP, which was founded in 1979, boasts more than 60 member publishers, most of them in the United States.
But Business News came away with a huge haul of awards, including two in the coveted “Best In Show” categories, as judged by the prestigious University of Missouri School of Journalism.
It was the best result in Business News‘s long history with AABP and notable for recognising the publisher’s efforts across a suite of products.
Managing editor Sean Cowan said the awards, including two for the team’s industry-leading coverage of the Pindan collapse, were reward for the investment that Business News‘s board and management team had made in journalism over the past two years.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the efforts of our team during what’s been a transformative couple of years for Business News. Our website now regularly breaks the news that matters to business in WA, our magazine provides the context and analysis that our reputation has been built upon, and our podcasts ensure that our subscribers have access to the information they need in the format that best suits them,” he said.
“Then there’s our data, with Data & Insights providing all the business intelligence one could want, all presented in a world-leading manner.”
The judges especially praised journalists Jesinta Burton and Matt Mckenzie for their Pindan coverage, with Burton taking home the prestigious gold award for best investigative reporting.
“This entry does a great job of illustrating, in great detail, how government officials ignored information they had when they poured millions into a company they already identified as a risk. Strong use of freedom of information laws helped fuel the reporting,” the judges said of her reporting.
Mckenzie and Burton shared the gold award for best coverage of local breaking news, with judges praising them for the depth and breadth of their reporting.
“The reporters used all the tools at their disposal to call sources, visit construction sites and unearth documents to tell a complex story that involves numerous subcontractors, government projects and thousands of workers. The story spans much of the continent but never loses its way,” they said.
The Business News team was recognised with the “Best in Show” award for most improved publication for its fortnightly magazine, which has put a greater focus on long-form, in-depth reporting over the past two years and has benefited from a redesign led by the production team of Darren Noronha and Sarah Augustin.
“(The) covers display a clean design and more informative teases. Photographs are stronger, with an emphasis on portraits and large images. The table of contents is sleek and clean, and overall typography has been updated with a modern look. Feature stories are given the space they deserve, with deep dives into important issues,” the judges said.
The judges also praised Business News for its website, which took home the silver award in the “Best in Show” category of best website. “The amount of news and content offered by the website is balanced well by a simple and clean design, backed up by a strong sense of brand communicated through the content and its strongly visual presentation. The site emphasizes the latest news and most current information, while offering engaging analyses of data and insights into business trends, questions and current issues,” they said.
Finally, the podcast “At Close of Business” won the silver awared for best podcast. “The podcast combines elements of a newscast running down the top stories in its listening area with interviews that give the journalists a platform to go more in-depth on stories they’re reporting. The podcast fits a lot of information into a neat and easy-to-listen-to package,” the judges said.
The awards come as Business News prepares to launch its first ever Power 500 publication, which features the 500 most influential Western Australians and has been edited by Burton. The first copies of this much-anticipated publication will be available at an exclusive launch event later this month.
