Alaska Business Earns Press Club Awards
In a cover borrowing design elements from “Choose Your Own Adventure” books, Lucas Elliott contributed art representing many of Alaska’s major industries.
Alaska Business
The website you are reading is the best of any publisher in the state, based on awards from the Alaska Press Club. At the ceremony April 22 for work done in 2022, Alaska Business earned top marks in three categories: media website, cover design, and headline writing.
Graceful Edge
Only two websites earned recognition, and akbizmag.com faced stiff competition from Alaska’s News Source. According to the category judge, the TV station’s “sheer volume of content is unparalleled,” but this magazine excels in clean design and functionality.
“Although akbizmag.com does not produce the volume of content that the other contest entry does, its ability to gracefully display its long form stories and images give it the edge,” the judge noted. Credit goes to managing editor Tasha Anderson, art director Monica Sterchi-Lowman, and Taylor Sanders, who was website manager in 2022.
Sterchi-Lowman was also responsible for recruiting artist Lucas Elliott to design the cover of the October 2022 issue, which placed 1st in Best Magazine Cover. Elliott created an image inspired by the “Choose Your Own Adventure” books, which tied with that month’s theme for the Top 49ers (Alaska companies ranked by gross revenue). The October 2022 issue has two cover versions, one featuring a growling monster looming over the scene. Elliott had added the monster as a doodle to a draft cover, which evolved into a variant distributed at the Top 49ers luncheon; the variant was submitted to the Alaska Press Club.
Alaska magazine’s February 2022 cover was runner-up, and Alaska Business also placed 3rd in the category with the cover from June 2022. That month featured the exuberant faces of Rebecca Clark and Jody Oyen, co-founders of Remora, a logistics app.
Current Issue
April 2024
The third category in which this magazine topped all other media was headline writing, specifically those submitted by editor Scott Rhode. The titles, all for articles written by freelance authors, were “Fishin’ for Physicians: A SHARP hook baited with financial incentives” from January 2022; “Zeal for Zinc: Red Dog Mine feeds the hunger for a critical mineral” from March 2022; “No Sitting Still: Rearranging the office furniture market” from May 2022; “Upper Tanana Bonanza: The glitter of Manh Choh gold” from May 2022; and “To Catch a Z: An insider perspective on post-Millennial marketing” from October 2022.
The Juneau Empire and KCAW radio were runners-up for headlines. The category judge noted, “Lots of puns in this category. The most successful entries used puns to further explanation of the stories and to tease content, not just to show off being clever.”
Further, “To Catch a Z,” Rachael Kvapil’s profile of the college-aged founder of Glacier Marketing Group, placed 3rd for Best Business Reporting (an award named in honor of the original publisher of Alaska Business, Vern McCorkle). “Well-written look at an up-and-comer who understands his customers and his audience,” the judge noted. The winner in the category was Marc Lester of the Anchorage Daily News for “wonderfully thorough and human reporting” about cruise ship tourism in Seward.
A photograph by Kerry Tasker shows the co-founders of Remora at their hangar.
Alaska Business
For two 2nd-place finishes, Rhode was recognized for Arts Reporting and Education Reporting for the articles “One City, Two Capitals” and “Taming Lions at Alaska’s Largest K-6 School,” respectively. Of the former, the judge said, “Architecture can be one of the most difficult artistic endeavors to write about in a non-technical way that’s easily accessible to the average reader. This complex story did that.”
The Petersburg Pilot placed 1st for arts reporting, and the Anchorage Daily News had the best education reporting.
Another 2nd-place finish went to Brad Joyal’s March 2022 article, “Reinventing the Last Great Race,” in the category of Best Magazine Feature. Alaska magazine won the category with Bjorn Dihle’s “Looking for Alaska: A lifelong pursuit.” The judge noted, “It’s a shame there weren’t more entries in this category, although the winners would have risen to the top of just about any field.” And a guest author claimed 2nd place in Best Profile, namely Hope Roberts profiling herself in “Marine Mammal Huntress” from September 2022.
Jason Martin, vice president and general manager of Alaska Business Publishing Company, says, “We’re incredibly proud of our editorial and production teams that turn out exceptional issues month after month. Thank you to the Alaska Press Club for the recognition and the support you provide to our publication and to journalists across the state, and for constantly encouraging Alaska media to strive for excellence in journalism.”
In their company kitchens, the Corporate 100 blend wholesome ingredients with exquisite utensils to create the scrumptious ambrosia that keeps employees gratified and contented. Meet the top Alaska employers ranked by number of Alaskans on their payroll, and learn the recipe for success. This issue also includes a focus on economic development initiatives in Anchorage and Kodiak.