Preliminary Loeb Awards meeting held Monday

The Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism held its annual preliminary judging meeting Monday at the UCLA Anderson School of Management in Los Angeles, Calif., according to this press release. So if you’ve entered this year, then your entry was probably given its first review today.

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

The Loeb Awards are considered the most prestigious honor in business journalism — essentially the Pulitzer Prize for biz reporters — and recognize writers, editors and producers who make significant contributions to the understanding of business, finance and the economy. This year the preliminary judges considered 395 entries for the contest — a new all-time high.

Each of the Loeb Awards preliminary judges reviews all entries in one of the 10 competition categories, as well as nominations in the new business book category, to narrow the field to approximately four finalists, which then advance to the final judging round in the spring in New York City. The finalists are determined collectively by each category panel in separate deliberation sessions.

“We’re pleased to welcome 21 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, and we’re pleased to continue that tradition.”

The 21 new judges for the 2006 Loeb Awards competition are as follows:

Walt Bogdanich, assistant investigations editor, The New York Times; Mark Braykovich, business editor, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Bo Burlingham, editor at large, Inc. ; Michael Carroll, editor, Institutional Investor; Kathy Deveny, assistant managing editor, Newsweek; Henry Dubroff, chairman and editor, Pacific Business Coast Times; Tom Easton, senior financial correspondent, The Economist; Glenn Hall, business editor, The Orange County Register; Marlys Harris, finance editor, Consumer Reports; Peter Henderson, West Coast financial editor, Reuters; Richard Jenkins, editor in chief, MSN Money; Thomas Kupper, deputy business editor, The San Diego Union Tribune; Chris Lester, assistant managing editor, The Kansas City Star; David Morrow, editor in chief, TheStreet.com; Paul O’Donnell, business editor, The Plain Dealer; Kim Quillen, business editor, The Times-Picayune; Bob Rose, assistant managing editor of business news, The Philadelphia Inquirer; Ben Santarris, business editor, The Oregonian; Harry Fuller, executive editor, CNET News.com; Anne Stanley, assistant managing editor of enterprise, MarketWatch.com; Kathy Tulumello, business editor, The Arizona Republic.

There are 35 returning preliminary judges for the 2006 Loeb Awards competition. The 2006 Loeb Award winners will be announced at a banquet and presentation ceremony that will be held on Monday, June 26, 2006, in New York City. The recipients of the Lawrence Minard Editor Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award will also be honored.

The Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism were established in 1957 by Gerald Loeb, former founding partner of E.F. Hutton, to encourage quality reporting to inform and protect private investors and the general public. Winners are selected each year in a variety of print and broadcast categories, and career achievements are recognized with the Lawrence Minard Editor Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award. Judges are drawn from leading print and broadcast media nationwide.