Morgenson to receive SABEW Distinguished Achievement Award

Gretchen Morgenson, senior special writer in the investigations unit at The Wall Street Journal, will receive the Society of American Business Editors and Writers’ highest honor, its Distinguished Achievement Award, for 2018.

The award is given to an individual who has made a significant impact on the field of business journalism and who has served as a nurturing influence on others in the profession.

“I am thrilled and honored to receive this distinguished award from SABEW. It underscores my belief that speaking truth to power has never been more crucial than it is today,” said Morgenson. “I look forward to attending the spring conference in Washington. Thank you SABEW!”

Morgenson will accept the award Friday, April 27, at the SABEW Best in Business Dinner and Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C., during the SABEW18 spring conference.

“Gretchen Morgenson is one of our industry’s biggest stars — a brilliant financial journalist, inspiring leader and one of precious few in our ranks whose first name alone commands instant respect among colleagues and sources,” said Cory Schouten, who chairs the SABEW committee that nominated Morgenson for the Distinguished Achievement Award. “She also has a fascinating pre-journalism career path, having worked on Wall Street and on a presidential campaign before a distinguished career with The New York Times and, now, The Wall Street Journal.”

Prior to joining The Wall Street Journal in November 2017, Morgenson spent almost 20 years as assistant business and financial editor and a columnist at The New York Times. She began covering the world financial markets for the newspaper in May 1998 and won the Pulitzer Prize for beat reporting in 2002 for her “trenchant and incisive” coverage of Wall Street.

Morgenson, a graduate of Saint Olaf College in Minnesota, joined Forbes in 1986. Nine years later, she became national press secretary to magazine editor Steve Forbes when he ran for president of the United States. When he withdrew from the race in March 1996, she returned to writing and editing at the magazine. She was named assistant managing editor in September 1997.

Morgenson is co-author, with Joshua Rosner, of “Reckless Endangerment,” a New York Times bestseller about the origins of the 2008 financial crisis published. She has won two Gerald Loeb Awards, one in 2009 for her coverage of Wall Street and another in 2002 for excellence in financial commentary.

The SABEW Distinguished Achievement Award was established in 1993, when it was awarded to Hobart Rowan of the Washington Post. There have been 24 recipients since its inception.