SBJ picks up pair of awards at business publication conference

Springfield Business Journal received two awards at an annual conference held by The Alliance of Area Business Publishers, which represents business publications in the United States, Canada and Australia.

SBJ picked up a silver honor in the category of best use of photography and illustration among newspapers, as well as a bronze award for best overall design in its category of medium tabloids based on circulation. The AABP's annual conference, which included the Editorial Excellence Awards on June 20, was held in Ottawa, Canada.

“These awards have stiff competition and are not easy to win,” SBJ Executive Editor Christine Temple said. “I’m incredibly proud of the talented team at Springfield Business Journal. Each member of our team is dedicated to excellence and is committed to our mission of serving readers the business news they need to know.”

The silver award for best use of photography and illustrations specifically names SBJ creative services team members Heather Mosley, Rebecca Green, Tawnie Wilson and Katelyn Egger. An illustration used in the November 2024 article "The Great Reset" and a December 2024 photo of Moxie Cinema Executive Director Joe Dull for the Executive Insider series were among works submitted for the award consideration. 

"From black-and-white documentary photos to a colorful word cloud in the shape of a body to illustrate accommodations in the workforce, this portfolio of work shows a dynamic staff thinking of creative visual storytelling solutions," the judges' comments read. "Other photos show real people doing real things, and the images are arranged with good understanding of dominant visuals on a page."

The judges' comments for SBJ's best overall design award pointed to "a strong sense of hierarchy, with bold type and thoughtful photo selections" that "bring visual weight to each story."

More than 140 awards were presented during the event, with the winners chosen by faculty at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. The awards ceremony marked the culmination of a three-day conference that provided workshops on editorial, sales, marketing and events, and audience development.

AABP represents roughly 57 publications with a combined circulation of around 1.2 million, according to its website.