The Alliance of Area Business Publishers presented DBusiness with the Bronze Award for Best Magazine in the country, along with four Gold Medals for individual accomplishments as part of the organization’s annual Editorial and Design Competition for 2022 coverage.
“Thank you to the Alliance of Area Business Publishers and all the award winners who were cited during the 2023 Editorial Excellence Awards (for 2022 content) last night at the Westin Book Cadillac in downtown Detroit,” says R.J. King, editor of DBusiness magazine.
“Winning four Gold Medals for editorial quality and the Bronze Medal for Best Magazine, along with competing among the best publications across the country, is rewarding. Thank you to our dedicated team — Tim Keenan, Jake Bekemeyer, Justin Stenson, Stephanie Daniel, Steven Prokuda, journalists Norm Sinclair and Ronald Ahrens, and the entire Hour Media team.”
It was the third year in a row that DBusiness was in the top three for Best Magazine.
“The Ticker section in this publication’s front-of-book consistently offers items of interest and importance and serves as a fitting welcome to robust issues,” the judges said of the publication. “Cover features take on vital regional topics with thorough reporting, and its overall design helps elevate the content.”
R.J. King won a Gold Medal for Best Bylined Commentary.
“After decades of multiple challenges, Detroit is garnering recognition for its resilience and ongoing transformation. The author recognizes past leadership in technology as he looks to the city’s Smart City future and its major industry shift to electric vehicles,” the judges said. “Each column utilizes lessons from history to provide insight to where the city stands today and is poised to be in the future. Important points are backed with relevant data, evidence, and personal observation.”
Managing editor Tim Keenan won a Gold Medal for Best Feature, Single Story for “Is Crypto the Next Bubble?”
“The entry is a well-written explanatory feature at a timely moment in the short history of crypto currency,” the judges said. “Beyond an inviting narrative that appeals to readers of all ages, the story is broken up with excellent graphics that unveil the details of crypto currency in bite-size and digestible nuggets. The completeness of the story, combined with outstanding writing, perform a valuable public service.”
Ronald Ahrens won his second Gold Medal in as many years for the “Closing Bell” feature.
“Engaging prose brings the past to life in these features that succinctly illustrate the rise and fall of iconic and once-iconic elements of Detroit,” according to the judges. “Solid research unearths details that reward readers new to the topic as well as those with prior knowledge.”
Norm Sinclair won a Gold Medal for his “Inside Out” article about the Flint water scandal.
“A fascinating look at the way Michigan’s attorney general used a little-known one-man grand jury process to bring about justice in the wake of the Flint water scandal (which was struck down by the courts for overreach),” said the judges. “Deeply reported, well-sourced and clearly written.”
Below are links to the features cited by the judges.
Best Feature, Single Story — “Is Crypto the Next Bubble?” by Tim Keenan
Best Investigative Reporting — “Inside Out” by Norm Sinclair
Last year, DBusiness magazine received two Gold and five Silver medals in the competition.
DBusiness magazine is part of Hour Media in Troy. Hour Media and its related entities are multi-media companies that publish and produce more than 150 magazines and custom titles, 40 consumer websites, and 70 shows and events throughout the United States. Hour Media Group is the largest publisher of city and regional magazines in the country. The company has offices in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio, with more than 300 employees across the country.