26 March 2019: The Financial Times has been awarded four prizes at the 24th annual Best in Business awards, including the prestigious prize for General Excellence. The annual awards are sponsored by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) and recognize outstanding business journalism stories.
The General Excellence award aims to showcase the depth and breadth of quality journalism in a news organization. Stories highlighted in the award entry demonstrated the FT’s commanding insight and deep reporting into a range of topics, and included:
- Saudi Arabia’s sovereign fund builds $2bn Tesla stake, Arash Massoudi and Richard Waters
- Guggenheim Securities: Wall Street and the risk of huge incentives, James Fontanella-Khan, Sujeet Indap and Joe Rennison
- Men Only: Inside the charity fundraiser where hostesses are put on show, Madison Marriage
- Dirty air: how India became the most polluted country on earth, Steven Bernard and Amy Kazmin
The judges commented: “Top honors go to the Financial Times for the skill and breadth of its reporting and effectiveness of its presentation.”
Rana Foroohar, global business columnist and associate editor, won best commentary for her opinion writing on the world’s largest technology companies, and emerging policies in 2018.
The judges said, “Rana Foroohar’s work stood out because they are convincingly argued and eloquently written. In pushing for a new antitrust vision, Foroohar took on the most powerful companies of the age, with clear, crisp prose and a deft use of historical context. ”
FT’s premium offering, Due Diligence won best newsletter. Co-created by Arash Massoudi, corporate finance and deals editor, and James Fontanella-Khan, US corporate finance & deals editor, Due Diligence has rapidly become the leading source of information on all things M&A, private equity and corporate finance online.
The judges remarked, “The Financial Times newsletter FT Due Diligence showcases deep, insightful reporting, innovative use of graphics and stylish writing as it casts a skeptical eye on the world of deal-making, from a wild trading day in the life of Tesla to the “disastrous” performance of General Electric’s Wall Street advisors.”
Barney Jopson, Middle East & Africa news editor (formerly the US Policy Correspondent) won in the personal finance category, for his FT Magazine feature Why are so many Americans crowdfunding their healthcare?.
Judges commented, “Barney Jopson’s “Click to donate” story was a refreshingly contrarian challenge to the conventional wisdom presented by the highly favorable press that crowdfunding has attracted.”
Additionally the FT received honourable mentions for David Crow’s coverage of opioids and the Sackler family, in the health and science category, and for FT’s documentary Argentina: a Life of Boom and Bust by Benedict Mander, Vanessa Kortekaas and Ben Marino.
The awards ceremony will take place at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix on May 17 at SABEW’s 56th annual conference.
Find the full list of winners here.
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For more information please contact:
Allison Rivellini
allison.rivellini@ft.com
+1 917-551-5092
About the Financial Times
The Financial Times is one of the world’s leading business news organisations, recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. The FT has a record paying readership of 985,000, three-quarters of which are digital subscriptions. It is part of Nikkei Inc., which provides a broad range of information, news and services for the global business community.