Mainebiz won three industry awards, including silver in the “Best Newspaper: Small Publication” category, in the annual Alliance of Area Business Publishers’ annual competition for regional business publications.
The award presentations took place Saturday at the end of the AABP’s three-day conference in Dallas.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, AABP is a nonprofit trade association representing 55 independent magazine and newspaper members in the United States, Canada and Australia. For the awards, 43 publications submitted 483 entries, which were judged by faculty members from the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
“It’s quite a validation for the dedication and talent of the Mainebiz team to be recognized among our peers in local markets across the country for the outstanding work we do — we are so proud to bring these awards home to Maine,” said Mainebiz Publisher Donna Brassard.
In awarding Mainebiz the silver award for best small newspaper, the judges wrote: “Cover stories are always well photographed and well written, supported with graphics and charts that contextualize numbers in the story. Regional briefs are a great way to pack in a lot of news from across the state. The back-of-the-book section is particularly strong with new hires, promotions, appointments and achievements news, which creates a real sense of community. Design is solid, with good typography and careful use of white space.”
Mainebiz also received silver awards for “best overall design” and “best ancillary publication” for the annual Fact Book, both in the small newspaper category.
Brassard, who earlier this year took on an expanded role as group publisher at parent company New England Business Media, noted that the 11 awards overall earned by Mainebiz and its sister publications Hartford Business Journal and the Worcester Business Journal were the most awards NEBM has brought home collectively.
Hartford Business Journal won two awards and Worcester Business Journal took home six awards in this year’s AABP Editorial Excellence competition.
“With the highest standards of excellence in journalism and design, these regional business publishers deliver consistent, compelling and relevant news to their readers,” said AABP Executive Director C. James Dowden. “And the resurgence of local — in retail, in restaurants and in relationships — means regional business publishers play a stronger role in communities than ever before.”
