Opinion: SBJ garners top honors in international competition

The pride in accomplishment and pleasure the group showed on their faces and in their voices when sharing the news of SBJ’s awards for editorial excellence is a memory I will always treasure.

Although these five staff members – Mike Noggle, Diana Weber, Eric Olson, Maria Hoover and Jeff Wells – gave up their weekend and family time to travel to Little Rock, Ark., for long days of meetings and late-night networking (the politically correct term for partying by moonlight), they were happy and energetic at 8 a.m. Monday morning when they announced that the Business Journal had brought in top honors in AABP’s Editorial Excellence Awards: a gold for Best Web Site and a silver for Best Front Page.

The AABP Editorial Excellence Awards recognize achievement in journalism, photography and design from the nonprofit organization’s 74 independent regional business publications in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Australia.

Arkansas Business Publishing Group, with headquarters in Little Rock, served as host for the three-day conference and competition. Professor Daryl Moen of the University of Missouri School of Journalism coordinated the contest, with 31 MU journalism faculty members comprising the judging panel.

SBJ Designer/Photographer Aaron Scott demonstrated his graphic skills and talent in the Best Cover category for the Nov. 14, 2005, lead story, “Jumping into New Markets,” a look at Bass Pro Shops’ record number of store openings nationwide. Last year, SBJ took home its first AABP award for Editor Eric Olson’s investigative piece on Bass Pro’s expansion.

Judges complimented Scott for his photo illustration and display type that give the reader “all the high points of the story before a single word of body copy is read.”

I am also pleased with the way that Aaron’s work on all of SBJ’s pages continues to attract readers and positive comments. I’ve always been convinced that the Business Journal had solid content, but now more than ever before, all of SBJ’s pages demand attention.

I am seriously trying not to brag excessively, but it’s difficult, very difficult, considering Springfield Business Journal’s entire marketplace and circulation are dwarfed by AABP colleagues from cities such as Cleveland, Detroit, Vancouver and Baton Rouge, to name a few. It is extremely gratifying to realize that at last the Springfield area and Springfield Business Journal are finally commanding attention and respect from around the nation. It has been a long time in coming.

Now for the best news: SBJ’s Web site, www.sbj.net, was judged the best regional business journal site in the nation. Judges’ comments mentioned the “sleek, sophisticated use of color in the navigation bars” on the site. Other comments included “fast-loading pages,” “effective yet unobtrusive advertising,” and “e-forms” that could be a model for others.

I am obliged to mention here that the fine Web-site designers in the Arkansas Business organization have played a big role in creating sbj.net. The site was a big investment for us, but one that we would gladly make again.

I continue to contend, however, that it’s not what you’ve got but what you do with it that counts. Online Reporter Dee Dee Nilsen manages SBJ’s Web site, and other editorial team members contribute the articles and photos that populate the site on a daily basis.

My advice to you is this: Sign up now. It’s easy and it’s free (for now).

“This is the little newspaper that can,” the judges said in their accompanying comments. This is the only part with which I beg to differ. I say, “We can because we know we can do whatever we decide to do.”

Thank God for that.

And thank you for bearing with me through this entire column. We really do feel much more comfortable talking about the accomplishments of others.

That’s what we’re in business to do. Please keep in touch.

Dianne Elizabeth Osis is publisher and president of Springfield Business Journal Inc. She can be reached at delizabeth@sbj.net.