Eligibility

This competition covers work published, broadcast and posted in the calendar year 2024. International submissions are encouraged.

Membership

The Best in Business competition is open to all SABEW members whose membership is current through April 1, 2025. All students can enter, and non-member students will receive a free one-year student membership (a savings of $25).

For entries with more than one byline, one person must have a current SABEW membership with an expiration date of April 1, 2025, or later. Entries can list up to five byline names.

You can check your membership status and expiration date by logging into the membership portal here.

Once logged in, click on subscriptions on the left-hand side. You will see a list of your memberships with the current membership at the top. If you have an institutional membership, click on the three dots on the far-right side and a list of people on your institutional membership will be displayed.

Details on joining SABEW can be found here. If you need to renew your membership, you can do that by logging into the membership portal here.

Multiple Entries

There is no limit on the number of entries per news outlet; however, any individual story may only be entered into one story type and one story topic category. For example, the same story or package of stories cannot be entered into the Investigative and Explanatory categories, both of which are story types.

Size Categories

Categories are broken out by size, determined by the news organization’s total editorial staff. News organizations compete against other similarly sized organizations, regardless of format, unless otherwise noted. Freelancers will be grouped based on the size of the outlet that published their work.

Small: Fewer than 50 editorial staff
Medium: 51-300 editorial staff
Large: 301+ editorial staff

If an entry is the product of a partnership of two or more organizations, enter into the size category corresponding to the combined staffs of the partner organizations.

Submitting Your Entries

Submissions for the 2024 Best in Business Awards are open December 2, 2024, to January 31, 2025. Entries must be submitted through the online platform. Submissions close on Friday, January 31 at noon ET.

Requirements

Each category has its own set of criteria for entries to be eligible. Basic requirements include a URL where the entry is live and a username and password if the entry is behind a paywall. A PDF of the entry will also be accepted.

Unless otherwise noted, an entry shall consist of no more than three elements. Elements should all contain the same theme, though they don’t need to be directly related to each other. An element can be a text, audio or video, or an interactive. Accompanying photos and static graphics will not be counted as elements.

Entries must include any corrections, retractions, or editors’ notes related to accuracy or fairness that were published in connection to the submitted work.

Byline

Up to five individuals may be named on an entry. They should be the strongest contributors to the work. Entries where more than five journalists made substantial contributions must be submitted as a staff entry and individuals will not be named on the award.

Editing Entries

Entries can be saved and edited until the deadline, but corrections cannot be made to entries after submitting. Please verify that all the information in your entry is correct before submitting.

Entry Fees

Entry fees are based on the date of your submission.

Deadlines:
Early-bird deadline — Monday, January 6, 2025, at 5 p.m. ET
Competition deadline — Monday, January 27, 2025, at 5 p.m. ET
Late deadline — Friday, January 31, 2025, at noon ET

Fees (dependent on deadline):

General Excellence categories — $130 / $150 / $200
Story Type, Story Topic categories and Best Range of Work in the medium and large divisions — $79 / $99 / $150
Story Type, Story Topic categories and Best Range of Work in the small division — $69 / $99 / $150
Students (includes a free, one-year student membership; a $25 savings) — $20

Freelance journalists receive a $15 discount per entry using the code Freelancer.

Copyright and Right of Use

No part of any entry will be returned. SABEW reserves the right to use any part or the whole of any entry for publicity, educational or promotional purposes.

Review this page before starting your submission. If you have any questions, please contact awards@sabew.org.

Enter the Competition Category Descriptions What’s New This Year Frequently Asked Questions View SABEW Best in Business Past Honorees