SABEW names 2011 Best in Business winners

The Society of American Business Editors and Writers announced winners of its 17^thBest in Business competition, which honors excellence in business and financial journalism across all news platforms.

Bloomberg News and the Global Post each had nine wins; the Financial Times had eight honors, and The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Markets magazine and CNNMoney.com each took seven.

Overall there were more than 200 winners across 89 categories. There was a record-setting 1,030 entries this year, an increase of 11 percent over the previous year.

“Business and economic news again produced some of the biggest — and most competitive — stories in 2011,” said Kevin Noblet, SABEW president and a managing editor at Dow Jones Newswires. “Our Best in Business awards judges found extraordinary coverage of breaking news, dogged investigative efforts, great beat and column writing and fine explanatory journalism.”

“SABEW has structured our prizes not just to reflect the new ways stories are getting delivered over the Internet and in different media, and but to make sure local journalism gets honored along with the big national news outlets.”

The awards will be presented Saturday, March 17, at the NCAA Hall of Champions in Indianapolis. SABEW’s 49^th annual conference runs March 15-17 and features White House consumer advocate Richard Cordray, Ford marketing chief Jim Farley, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, with welcoming remarks by Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay.

More than 200 working journalists and academics served as judges. A complete winners list is available at sabew.org.

In a sampling of winners, an Associated Press feature on the lawyer representing victims of financier Bernie Madoff swayed judges, as did Madoff features in the Financial Times and New York Magazine. Bloomberg News won for its multimedia package on children picking cotton in Burkina Faso, and for news of George Soros returning investor funds.