BizTimes Milwaukee won five awards, including four first place “gold” awards, in the annual Alliance of Area Business Publishers Editorial Excellence Awards competition. The awards were presented over the weekend at the annual AABP summer conference, held in Washington DC.
There were 484 entries in the contest from 37 publications in the U.S., Canada and Australia, and 115 awards were presented.
BizTimes Milwaukee reporter Arthur Thomas won a gold award in the “Best Coverage of Local Breaking News” category, medium-sized publications, for his reporting on the announcement of Foxconn’s plans to build a massive, $10 billion LCD screen manufacturing complex in Wisconsin.
Judges’ comments: “Its series of stories informed the public quickly not only about the potential economic impact of the deal but also the billions in incentives the state provided to make it happen.”
BizTimes Milwaukee reporter Maredithe Meyer won a gold award in the “Best Feature” category, medium-sized publications, for her Oct. 30, 2017 cover story on the Bradley Center Era, as the downtown Milwaukee arena nears the end of its lifespan.
Judges’ comments: “To tell a story about a building is difficult. But this well-told feature about Jane Bradley Pettit’s gift to the city of Milwaukee was filled with nostalgia – the many people and the events that connected the Bradley Center to the community. Captivating and packed with historical data, the soon-to-be torn down arena came to life through detailed reporting, excellent writing and great interviews.”
BizTimes Milwaukee reporter Corrinne Hess won a gold award in the “Best Personality Profile” category, medium-sized publications, for her Sept. 4, 2017 cover story on Milwaukee developer Gary Grunau.
Judges’ comments: “This look at one of the city’s most prominent business and civic leaders is based on showing, not telling. Using narrative techniques such as scene re-creation and anecdotes, Hess shows the dapper Grunau, who at 78 is fighting brain cancer but pushing ahead with business and civic endeavors. This profile gives us the man behind the civic face.”
BizTimes Milwaukee art director Shelly Tabor won a gold award in the “Best Feature Layout: Newspaper” category for the May 26, 2017 cover story on Harley-Davidson.
Judges’ comments: “The headline, illustration and text are all angled in unison to create tension and interest in the opening to this spread. The angle is repeated subtly in the next several pages. The color, which is part of Harley-Davidson’s logo, also repeats, so this package telegraphs to readers they are still in the same story several pages later. The design elements appropriately create motion.”
Tabor and graphic designer Alex Schneider won a bronze award in the “Best Overall Design: Medium/Large Tabloids” category.
Judges’ comments: “The variety of interesting, dynamic covers used really grabs your attention. There’s nice variation here too. From portraiture to dynamic illustration, these covers aren’t easily ignored. On the interior, consistently open, airy design makes wonderful use of whitespace, and sets the tone for the brand. Use of colors and tabs for navigation make for clever design. Overall, a nicely designed publication with a good sense of branding.”
Earlier this year, BizTimes Milwaukee won three awards in the Milwaukee Press Club’s annual Excellence In Wisconsin Journalism contest.
