Virginia Business wins two national journalism awards

Virginia Business won two national journalism awards Thursday at The Alliance of Area Business Publishers’ (AABP) Editorial Excellence awards.

The magazine placed gold in the “best feature” category for freelance writer Greg Weatherford’s November 2019 cover story, “The rise of the millennials,” which focused on the generation’s ascendance as America’s largest workforce population.

In the comments for the gold award, the judges praised Weatherford for a “vital and timely story with a fitting edge to its writing. … Solid anecdotes make for a lively read.”

Another piece by Weatherford, a December 2019 cover story profile of Virginia Economic Development Partnership CEO Stephen Moret, took the silver award for “best personality profile.”

Speaking about Weatherford’s profile of Moret, the judges said, “The writer delivers a thoughtful profile of one of Virginia’s top business rainmakers. … Instead of a rah-rah feature, though, the writer takes a page from the ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,’ leveraging Moret’s work as an inspirational and practical blueprint for winning in the workplace.”

The awards were judged by 24 faculty members from the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Nearly 450 entries were submitted from 34 of the AABP’s 55 member publications. The awards ceremony was held virtually as part of the AABP’s four-day annual conference.

AABP is a Norwalk, Connecticut-based nonprofit organization representing business publications in the United States, Canada and Australia.