Times’ Business Section Named One of Nation’s Best
The Los Angeles Times Business section was named one of the best in the nation Tuesday in the annual Society of American Business Editors and Writers business journalism contest.
The Times Orange County edition also received an honorable mention in the spot news category for its coverage of Merrill Lynch & Co.’s agreement to pay $30 million stemming from its role in the Orange County bankruptcy.
The Times Business section received an overall excellence award, one of four given to the nation’s largest newspapers for work done in 1997. The judges praised the section for its writing, design, news judgment, depth of analysis and variety of stories.
“The mix of national and local stories was very good,” they said. “The Times operates in an interesting arena in which many local stories also qualify as national stories. The focus of this section demonstrates that such complexities have been thought through.”
The other newspapers with circulation of 350,001 or more that were cited for excellence in business news were the Dallas Morning News, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Times staff writers who participated in the Merrill Lynch coverage were Shelby Grad, James S. Granelli, Davan Maharaj, Thomas Mulligan, Dana Parsons, E. Scott Reckard, Lee Romney, Michael G. Wagner, Debora Vrana, Martin Miller, Scott Martelle and Nick Anderson. Librarians Sheila A. Kern and Lois Hooker also contributed.
“This was an excellent job of reporting a complex breaking story,” the judges said. “It presented a broad look at the issue and did a good job at getting the outrage of some involved in this case up high in the main story. The coverage also clearly got across that Merrill’s troubles were not yet over.”
The contest was started in 1995 to help set standards and recognize role models for outstanding business journalism. This year, more than 250 entries from daily newspapers, business weeklies and wire services were received.
The Orange County Register was one of three large-circulation newspapers that received a certificate of merit.
