Preliminary judging sessions held for Loeb Awards

The Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism is holding its annual preliminary judging meeting Monday at the UCLA Anderson School of Management in Los Angeles.

This year’s preliminary judges include leading journalists representing major print, online and broadcast media organizations from across the nation, as well as a faculty member from UCLA Anderson School of Management, which has sponsored the Loeb Awards since 1973.

The Loeb Awards are the most prestigious honors in business journalism and recognize writers, editors and producers who make significant contributions to the public’s understanding of business, finance and the economy. This year the preliminary judges considered 436 entries for the contest — a new all-time high, including 23 book nominations.

Each of the Loeb Awards preliminary judges reviews all entries in one of the 13 competition categories to narrow the field to approximately four finalists, which then advance to the final judging round held in the spring in New York City. The finalists are determined collectively by each category panel in separate deliberation sessions.

“We are pleased to welcome 28 new preliminary judges for this year’s competition,� said Richard Rodner, associate dean of marketing and communications at UCLA Anderson School of Management and president of the G. and R. Loeb Foundation. “The Loeb Awards have always attracted outstanding judges, so we are thrilled to continue that tradition.�

The 28 new judges for the 2008 Loeb Awards competition are Randal Archibold, national correspondent, New York Times; Stephanie AuWerter, editor, SmartMoney.com; James Bandler, reporter, Wall Street Journal; Brooks Barnes, entertainment industry reporter, New York Times; Paul Bond, West Coast business editor, Hollywood Reporter; Tom Buerkle, international editor, Institutional Investor; Dan Ferrara, deputy editor, Inc.; Tom Gilbert, executive editor, TelevisionWeek; Peggy Giordano, executive producer, Bloomberg News; Sallie Hofmeister, deputy business editor, Los Angeles Times; David A. Kaplan, senior editor, Newsweek; Bernie Kohn, assistant managing editor, Baltimore Sun; Chuck Murphy, public affairs editor, Denver Post; Rick Newman, chief business correspondent, U.S. News & World Report; Christopher Oster, senior editor, investing, MSN Money; Lacy O’Toole, bureau chief, CNBC-TV; Chris Palmeri, Los Angeles senior correspondent, BusinessWeek; Chuck Salter, senior writer, Fast Company; Alan Saracevic, business editor, San Francisco Chronicle; Debra Simmons, managing editor, Plain Dealer; Joyce Terhaar, managing editor, Sacramento Bee; Alex Veiga, business writer, Associated Press; Amy Wallace, senior writer, Conde Nast Portfolio; Jim Watters, business editor, San Diego Union-Tribune; Pete Weitzner, professor and co-anchor, “Daybreak OC� KDOC-TV; Eric Wieffering, assistant managing editor, Business, Star Tribune; Stephen Wisnefski, Chicago bureau chief, Dow Jones Newswire; and Jon Wolman, editor and publisher, Detroit News.

The 2008 Loeb Awards winners will be announced at a banquet and presentation ceremony that will be held on Monday, June 30, in New York City. The recipients of the Lawrence Minard Editor Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award will also be honored.

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