IBJ wins 9 business journalism awards, including silver in ‘best newspaper’ category

IBJ won a silver award in the best large newspaper category and nabbed eight other national journalism awards Tuesday night at the Alliance of Area Business Publications’ summer conference near Wilmington, North Carolina.

IBJ’s AABP awards covered reporting, design, newsletters and podcasts published in 2025. IBJ Engagement Editor Mason King won two awards: a gold award for hosting the IBJ Podcast and a silver award for his Eight@8 morning newsletter. IBJ Media’s director of digital content, Chris Spangle, shared in the podcast award.

A team that includes Inside INdiana Business Managing Editor Alex Brown and former IBJ reporters Dan Lee and Marek Mazurek won a gold medal for coverage of a nuclear company’s decision to move to Indiana. Reporter Susan Orr won a gold award for technology reporting.

IBJ competes in the large publications category at AABP, which represents 57 independently-owned business newspapers and magazines in North America. Members include publications based in Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, Detroit, Cleveland, New York and others.

In most categories, AABP names gold, silver and bronze winners. IBJ won three gold honors, five silver awards and one bronze award.

In the best newspaper category, Crain’s Chicago Business won gold, IBJ won silver and Crain’s New York Business won bronze.

Here are the award categories in which IBJ took home an award, along with the winners and the judges’ comments:

Best Newspaper — large tabloids

Silver: IBJ staff

Judges: “Cover story features are excellent, notably ‘20 Startups to Watch’ (see at right), ‘Trade War Trepidation’ and ‘Trouble Averted.’ There is a wide variety of content in each issue and many columnists and viewpoints alongside the news. ‘Indiana 250’ is a strong opening standing feature, and the ‘Forefront’ insert of columns from thought leaders is an interesting addition to the publication.”

Best Feature Layout – newspapers

Bronze: “The Year in Sports” timeline; Audrey Pelsor, lead designer

Judges: “A thoughtfully designed timeline structure anchors the layout and guides readers through the year with clarity and precision. A substantial amount of content is handled with impressive control, maintaining readability while creating a dynamic visual flow across a single spread. Photography is seamlessly integrated within the timeline, adding energy and personality while reinforcing key moments. A clean and consistent typographic system supports hierarchy and organization, allowing important information to stand out.”

Best Podcast

Gold: “IBJ Podcast”; Mason King, host; Chris Spangle, director of digital content

Judges: “There is a specific attention to structure that sets this podcast apart from competitors, with each episode clearly laying out the stakes of the conversation to come. Host Mason King’s delivery is easy to follow, and he shifts gears seamlessly from narration to interview, engaging guests with curiosity and establishing a free-flowing rapport.”

Best Daily Email

Silver: “IBJ’s Eight@8”; Mason King, author

Judges: “This daily news email is both parts substantive and concise. It includes a digestible roundup of headlines with blurbs that provide adequate context and leave room for subscribers to click through and learn more on the website. This achieves the goal of any regular newsletter: to add value to the reader experience while expertly driving in more website traffic.”

Best Scoop – large publications

Silver: “The demolition of a historic crane”; Mickey Shuey, reporter

Judges: “The story stood out showing how the loss of a familiar industrial landmark reflected broader changes in the city’s landscape and identity. The reporter was able to blend the history, development and community impact in an effective way.”

Best Feature Single Story – large publications

Silver: “The House in the Backyard”; Daniel Bradley, reporter

Judges: “A deeply engaging feature that blends history, personal commitment, and community identity into a richly layered narrative. The story follows one family’s painstaking restoration of a pre-Civil War home, using their journey to illuminate broader themes of preservation, development pressure, and the value of place. With vivid detail and strong narrative pacing, the piece turns a local renovation into a compelling meditation on stewardship and legacy. A beautifully told story that resonates far beyond its immediate setting.”

Best Coverage of Local Breaking News – large publications

Gold: “Nuclear energy startup to establish HQ, operations in Indiana”; reporters Alex Brown, Marek Mazurek and Dan Lee

Judges: “The story highlighted the company’s proposed $4 billion investment, the creation of 5,000 jobs and the broader significance for a state looking to become a leader in nuclear energy. The reporters clearly communicated how the impact to the community will shift the landscape and have a longstanding economic impact.”

Best Beat Reporting, Tech and Innovation – large publications

Gold: “Technology coverage”; Susan Orr, reporter

Judges: “Susan Orr delivers authoritative, policy-savvy reporting that captures the real-world stakes of technology infrastructure and innovation. Her coverage of broadband expansion and federal BEAD funding cuts through bureaucratic complexity to show how shifting rules directly affect providers, timelines, and ultimately access for underserved communities. What elevates this work is Orr’s ability to translate dense regulatory change into consequential business. She brings in key stakeholders — from state officials to local providers — to illuminate how policy decisions ripple through markets, competition, and long-term infrastructure investment. The result is essential reporting that connects technology, government, and economic development with clarity and urgency — demonstrating how innovation policy shapes who gets access to the digital economy and when.”

Best Editorial – large publications

Silver: “Sniping doesn’t solve the issues that plague city, state”; IBJ staff

Grounded in solid reporting, this piece calls out the infighting from officials that stands in the way of progress. The writer effectively parses the issue, holds leaders accountable, and points directly to what needs changing.