PBN wins first place for 2010 flood coverage

By PBN Staff

PROVIDENCE – Providence Business News was awarded first place for its breaking news coverage of the March 2010 floods by the Alliance of Area Business Publications Saturday.

PBN took home the top honors in the the Best Coverage of Local Breaking News category in the alliance’s 2011 Editorial Excellence Awards competition.

The contest winners were announced on June 25 at the conclusion of the AABP’s annual meeting, which was held June 23-25 at The Westin Providence.

The judging took place at the University of Missouri School of Journalism; judges included both faculty and experienced journalists from across the country.

In commentary published by the AABP, the judges noted that PBN “turned to the Web to kick out early reports of flooding in the region and provided dogged coverage by coming back to the story with fresh angles. Both online and in print, the Providence Business News reported stories and information that was essential to businesses. A heroic effort by the paper during a crisis in its own backyard.”

The entire PBN staff contributed to the flood coverage.

In other news at the conference, PBN President & Publisher Roger C. Bergenheim was elected president of the AABP for the next year. Bergenheim's term will finish at next summer’s conference, which is scheduled to be held in Milwaukee.

The judges chose 36 first place, or gold, awards from 487 entries. The entries, published during calendar year 2010, were submitted from 45 business publications across the country; Providence Business News was included in the “large tabloid” category, where applicable.

Below are the gold award winners for the 2011 competition:

Magazines only

• Best cover – Baltimore Smart CEO

• Best feature layout – Florida Trend

• Best use of photography/illustration – Florida Trend

• Best overall design – DBusiness

• Best feature – Business North Carolina

• Best personality profile – Georgia Trend

• Best body of work/single writer – DBusiness

  Newspapers only

• Best front page – Baton Rouge Business Report

• Best feature layout – Crain’s New York Business

• Best use of photography/illustration – Los Angeles Business Journal

• Best overall design, small tabloids – BizTimes Milwaukee

• Best overall design, large tabloids – Crain’s Chicago Business

• Best feature – Crain’s Chicago Business

• Best personality profile – Baton Rouge Business Report

• Best scoop, small tabloids – NJBIZ

• Best scoop, large tabloids – Crain’s Cleveland Business

• Best coverage of local breaking news – Providence Business News

• Best body of work/single reporter – New Orleans CityBusiness

  Open

• Best bylined commentary – The Journal Record (Okla.)

• Best editorial – The Daily Record (Baltimore)

• Best recurring feature – Indianapolis Business Journal

• Best investigative reporting – Indianapolis Business Journal

• Best explanatory journalism – DBusiness

• Best local coverage of a national business/economic story – Crain’s Detroit Business

• Best headlines – Crain’s Detroit Business

• Best special section design – Crain’s New York Business

• Best ancilliary publication – Crain’s Detroit Business

  Online

• Best scoop – Crain’s New York Business

• Best staff-generated blog – Crain’s New York Business

• Best multimedia story/editorial feature – Crain’s Chicago Business

• Best daily email – Rochester Business Journal

• Best industry-specific e-newsletter – Crain’s Detroit Business

  Best of show

• Most improved publication – Tulsa Business Journal

• Best website – Crain’s Detroit Business

• Best magazine – DBusiness

• Best newspaper, small tabloid – Worcester Business Journal

• Best newspaper, large tabloid – Los Angeles Business Journal