SBJ wins Gold Cup at state newspaper contest

Springfield Business Journal was the recipient of a statewide Gold Cup award for the second-straight year and was recognized with first place honors in General Excellence as part of the Missouri Press Association's Better Newspaper Contest.

With 27 awards, SBJ was No. 1 in its category of weekly publications with a print circulation of 2,001 to 5,000 to take home the Gold Cup. Five publications statewide won Gold Cup awards during the ceremony held Sept. 21 at Hotel Vandivort in Springfield.

Below is the list of SBJ awards, with judges' comments when provided.

First Place
• General Excellence
• Best Overall Design
• Best Page Design for "Pondering Policy" by Heather Mosley: "The illustration elevates this page above others. Good use of an illustration to tell the story."
• Best Feature Story for "In the Spotlight" by Karen Craigo: "A very interesting read on a locally loved place for a minority group. It was telling the owner loved this place and wanted it to remain an institution. The writer captured the essence of the business in a great way."
• Best News or Feature Series for "Day in the Life": "Could have read these all day."
• Best Serious Columnist for Eric Olson's "Eyes & Ears": "In Eric Olson's ‘Eyes & Ears’ columns he is able to take a local issue or topic and magnify it into a bigger scale. Good scope of topics of interest. Points well defended. I'd read this one every issue."
• Best Story About Government for "At Our Service" by Karen Craigo: "Excellent from lede (great lede) to last sentence. Story was easy to read, full of good information. Graphic was a plus. Also a bonus: quotes gave information and weren't simply quotes."
• Best Story About Religion for "Life360’s nonprofit arm remains in good standing after state scrutiny" by Karen Craigo: "Good reporting on a complicated subject. Obviously the writer spent some time and care researching, interviewing and completing this story."
• Best Story About Marginalized or Underrepresented Communities for "A Hunger for Connection" by Karen Craigo: "Compelling story! Really helps the reader understand how important coming together is when far from home."
• Multimedia Reporting for "No Ceiling" podcast: "Great audio quality, loved the intro. Well thought out and interesting questions."
• Best Business Story for "Missouri first state to join national Reentry 2030 program" by Mike Cullinan: "Great topic and well written."
• Best Headline Writing: "These headlines were the most representative of the respective stories. They stayed on topic and didn't try to be too 'cute.'"

Second Place
• Best Front Page: "You serve your business audience quite well. Pages are clean and easy to read. Nicely done."
• Best Page Design for "On the Job" by Heather Mosley
• Best Feature Story for "A Dedicated Statesman" by Christine Temple: "This was a great story about an interesting politician in times like these. We could all take a lesson to reach across the aisle a bit more. Awesome job!"
• Best Online Newspaper or Website
• Multimedia Reporting for "CEO Roundtable" podcast: "Fantastic audio quality & intro. Research was clearly put into writing these questions, great!"
• Best News Story for "City, owner far apart on value of Hotel of Terror" by Karen Craigo: "Well explained, with an informative sidebar, the writer gives us all the 'gory' details of a fight between a Halloween destination and a city trying to renew its buried waterfront."
• Best Business Story for "Arts community is outgrowing The Creamery" by Karen Craigo: "The history details were a nice touch. Very local and great subject."
• Best Feature Photograph for "Built Tough" by Heather Mosley: "This is a well balanced photo which highlights both the subject and his work very nicely. The photographer integrated all of the elements in a thoughtful manner which makes this photo stand out."

Third Place
• Best Page Design
• Best News Story for "Contractors frustrated by prevailing wage formula" by Mike Cullinan: "The massive variance between what skilled workers may be paid across neighboring counties should frustrate everyone, both employees and contractors and the public. Strong reporting explains this situation and its very human impact."
• Best Story About Education for "Free Training" by Karen Craigo: "A well-written overview of an oft-overlooked educational pathway. Making the voices of the apprentices themselves more central would have made the story more compelling."
• Best Story About the Outdoors for "Lake Springfield plan aims to inspire investment in 1,000-acre site" by Karen Craigo
• Best Story About History for "Family reenvisions history in Marshfield" by Mike Cullinan: "Again, more of a business article than history, but an interesting project that is definitely worth writing about and was done well."
• Best Information Graphic for "Market Management" by Heather Mosley: "Well done visual providing a good illustration of key points."
• Best Feature Photograph for "Executive Insider: Ryan Beard" by Heather Mosley: "This photo does a good job of bringing the subject into the story by choosing a really good background to build the photo up from."