WILMINGTON – The Delaware Business Times won four awards in the 2023 Alliance of Area Business Publishers (AABP) contest.
AABP, with more than 70 member publications across North America, is dedicated to the business news industry and is among the most respected awards for DBT’s industry. Notably, the awards contest is judged annually by the faculty of the esteemed University of Missouri School of Journalism.
“We are thrilled to again be recognized by our peers with multiple awards for covering Delaware’s business community. The outstanding journalism our team produces is relied on by tens of thousands of readers across the state and we look forward to raising the bar for them again this year,” said Michael Reath, publisher of Delaware Business Times.
Editor Jacob Owens and associate editor Katie Tabeling won a second-place award for best scoop for their July 2022 story “DSU, Christiana Care in talks on med school” that revealed the discussions to start Delaware’s first medical school. Spotting a reference in the university’s public agenda, they listened into the conversation and wrote the only media report, leading DSU to issue a press release in response to the coverage.
Owens won a second-place award for editorial writing for his September 2022 column, “A tale of two Wilmingtons,” which contrasted the PGA Tour event with the tragic shooting of a WSFS Bank executive.
“Owens uses a set of contrasting events to make a clear point about the city’s challenge with gun violence. The narrative writing style is effective and powerful,” the judges wrote.
Delaware Business Times also won its second-consecutive AABP design award, taking home a third-place award for overall page design in a small-circulation tab newspaper.
“The nearly full-page cover images provide a wonderful opportunity to introduce the lead story to readers. Large well-displayed photos also enhance the lead story inside, and other feature packages, especially Spotlight. All of these images, and many of the smaller ones elsewhere in the book, focus on people, not buildings or places or things. This approach humanizes the business community and is an avenue to build engagement with the readers. The Page 3 “By the Numbers” info bits are a reliable eye-grabber,” the judges wrote.
In addition to its editorial work, Delaware Business Times’ STUFF publication, concerning workforce training and job opportunities for teens, won a second-place award for best ancillary publication. It marks five consecutive years that STUFF has been an award-winning publication.
In other state, regional and national award programs, DBT won 17 awards for its coverage in 2022.