Hawaii Business Wins 25 National and Statewide Awards

Hawaii Business Magazine won four national awards in June from the Alliance of Area Business Publishers and 21 statewide awards in July from the Hawai‘i chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. The honors were for work published in 2022. Staff Writer and Engagement Editor Noelle Fujii-Oride won seven awards from SPJ Hawaii, including first place in three categories. She also shared two first-place honors with other Hawaii Business contributors.

Among her honors was the prestigious first-place award for best overall body of work by a single writer. The judge in that category called Noelle “an excellent reporter and writer who does a great job humanizing her business insights.” Her stories, the judge continued, “are a wonderful mix of diving deep into the numbers/statistics/charts of a business topic with insightful interviews, always showing that behind every business (and business story) is a person.”

The Alliance of Area Business Publishers comprises more than 70 regional business publications, including journals in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas. The judges for the AABP contest are faculty members at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

Managing Editor Cynthia Wessendorf won the alliance’s first-place award for explanatory reporting for her comprehensive report in the May 2022 issue about the challenges faced by Hawai‘i public schools and their students coming out of the pandemic.

Kaimukī High struggles compared to neighboring schools like Kalani High. | Photo: Aaron Yoshino

The judges praised the article for illuminating “both human figures and structural elements in a compelling way.”

Janis Magin Meierdiercks won first place in the beat reporting category for her weekly real estate articles, published at hawaiibusiness.com and in the weekly email newsletter Hawai‘i Real Estate News.

“The stories by this reporter and publication are must-reads for people in the industry … and the average person feels smarter for having read them,” the judges said. They also praised the “great diversity of topics” to keep readers coming back week after week.

Janis and Noelle’s real estate reporting also won first place for trade or industry reporting in the Hawai‘i SPJ competition. “This series of stories about Hawai‘i’s housing market and home buying/selling/building trends stands alone. Great use of data and numbers to tell compelling stories, backed with interviews with both buyers/sellers and real estate professionals. Nice work!” the category judge in that competition said.

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Hawaii Business won two national bronze awards for:

Best magazine feature layout for our compelling March 2022 “20 for the Next 20” article designed by Creative Director Kelsey Ige, with pictures by Staff Photographer Aaron Yoshino and freelancers Michelle Mishina, Josiah Patterson and Christian Kahahawai.

“The type treatments and grid system are modern and inventive while providing a wonderful texture and canvas for the beautiful likenesses of the 20 honorees,” the judges said. The same story won second place for best single feature layout in the Hawai‘i SPJ competition.

Best Podcast for “The Hawaii Business Podcast,” hosted by Unyong Nakata of Nakata Advisory.“The podcast exudes warmth with a familiar and conversational approach to Hawai‘i’s business scene that highlights guests’ personalities and feels deeply rooted in the local culture,” the judges said. “The host’s personable approach is based on active listening and leads to deep, multifaceted conversations that track the breadth of guests’ careers.”The other awards for Hawaii Business Magazine came in the statewide competition run by SPJ Hawaii, with entries judged by journalist volunteers in Ohio and Kentucky.

Stories by Noelle swept all three prizes in the Data Journalism category that was open to all local media. First place was for her May report: “Here’s Which Ethnic Groups Make the Most Money in Hawai‘i.” The judge in that category said, “Hawaii Business provides insightful information about its many ethnicities, especially the examination of income trends. Also of high interest are the education and employment numbers.”

Noelle won silver for her November 2022 report, “Comparing Paychecks to Living Costs,” and bronze for her April article, “The Gender Pay Gap Narrowed, Then the Pandemic Arrived.” 

Illustration by Mallory Adams-Nakamura

My two reports last year with Kelsey on the BOSS Survey and the 808 Poll won first and second place in the all media category of information graphics. The first-place winner was published in the August issue and the second-place report appeared in the December issue.

Photo by Getty Images

“Hawaii Business’ BOSS Survey offers what business leaders are thinking, and this one was especially timely with its questions on the Covid-19 pandemic,” the judge in that category said.

HB’s staff collaborated to win first place in another category open to all media, best headlines. “Hawaii Business’ headlines draw in the reader with clear language on the subject matter of the stories, and the subheds/decks provide further explanation about the content,” the judge said.

Unsurprisingly, Hawaii Business did well in both the business reporting category and the trade or industry category open to all magazines. Noelle took first place for business reporting for her October report: “Child Care is a Labor of Love.”

Photos: courtesy of the child care providers featured in this story.

“Hawaii Business delves into the world of child care and offers readers a detailed look into the differences in child care and the complexity of salaries in the industry. The sourcing is extensive and provides both excellent data and real-world comments from those affected by trends and policies in Hawai‘i’s child-care system,” the judge said.

Second place for business reporting went to then-intern, now contributing writer Ryann Coules for her September report on ESOPs, employee-owned companies in Hawai‘i. The same article won second place for best magazine short feature.

Illustration: Getty Images

As noted above, Janis and Noelle combined to win first place in trade reporting on the local residential real estate market.

Noelle’s “Child Care is a Labor of Love” story also took third place in that category. The judge commented: “Really well done series about the child care industry in Hawai‘i and the people who work there despite the relatively low pay. The workers are doing a labor of love, as the headline says, but so is the writer.”

The child care story also won second place for long form feature writing and third place for magazine feature layout.

Freelance contributor Catharine Lo Griffin won third place in magazine profiles for her piece in December about CEO of the Year Paul Yonamine of Central Pacific Bank.

“It can be difficult to get beyond a CEO’s all-business exterior, but you managed to include Yonamine’s life story very well,” the judge said.

Cynthia’s November report about “Wildfires on the ‘Hawaiian Savanna’” won third place for science reporting in all local media. The judge said, “The dangers of wildfires pose a serious threat to people and property. Shining a light on the issue is a great public service.” Kelsey and Aaron won third place in the best magazine cover category for their November cover based on that story.

Photo: Aaron Yoshino

Kelsey collaborated with freelancer Xochitl Cornejo to win second place in the editorial cartoon/illustration category for their December illustration for the story about “Native Birds in Jeopardy.” The judge said, “Love the creativity in this image.”

Illustration: Xochitl Cornejo

Ryann won a third SPJ award: a second-place honor in arts and entertainment writing for her October piece, “UH Stages Award-Winning Plays Completely in ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i.” 

Scene from the comedy “Ho‘oilina,” which means legacy and inheritance. | Photo: courtesy of Tammy Haili’ōpua Baker

In the section of the SPJ Hawaii competition for students, Hawaii Business intern Victoria Budiono, now an intern with Civil Beat, won first place for student feature reporting in any media for her November piece, “The Honolulu Fish Auction Celebrates its 70th Anniversary.”

Photo: Aaron Yoshino