A Story, an Indictment, a Better Path Forward

A few years ago, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission brought charges against a businessman in rural Vermont who used to be the talk of the town — thanks to big promises he made to civic leaders. But it was just talk; his plans for a resort were built on sand. But it took the enterprise reporting of a small, independent publication, VT Digger, to expose that. 

ASBPE tries to recognize that kind of impactful journalism by business publications. Since creating its Journalism that Matters award in 2008, ASBPE has recognized three publications for their consequential work: Homeland Security Today, The Spine Journal and VT Digger. 

Business publications do important reporting all the time but they don’t always get recognized for it. The Journalism that Matters award is intended to recognize the kind of business reporting that results in a material impact in the industry or profession the publication covers. It doesn’t have to involve the SEC swooping in with a federal complaint; it can be an agency or a nonprofit or a company changing a practice, a standard, a rule — anything that’s material.  

ASBPE recognized The Spine Journal in 2011 because its reporting led academic journals to change how they disclose industry-sponsored research. Homeland Security Today was recognized in 2009 for being the reason the NFL relaxed a restriction it had on a certain type of ad that could run in the Super Bowl that year. 

These publications’ coverage had one thing in common: they launched a cause-and-effect sequence that led to a material change in the industry or profession they cover. 

If your publication, or if you know of another business publication whose coverage, has led to a change — whether to a practice, a rule, a standard — ASBPE would like to recognize it.

All forms of media, including print, online, video and audio, are eligible to enter. Use our Journalism That Matters Award nomination form to nominate your coverage or a colleague’s coverage and describe the impact it had. The deadline for nominations is Feb. 18, 2022. Any recipient(s) will be recognized at the 2022 National Azbee Awards of Excellence banquet in May.

Questions? Contact Robert Freedman at rfreedman@industrydive.com.