Hawaii Business Wins 8 Awards in Statewide Contest

The prizes include first place for Editorial Cartoon or Illustration, Explanatory Journalism, and Industry or Trade Reporting.

Hawaii Business Magazine won eight awards in a statewide contest run by the local chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

The SPJ awards, announced Wednesday night, were for work published in 2020. The full results are here. These are the awards won by Hawaii Business:

Category: Editorial Cartoon or Illustration

First Place: “Best Places to Work in Hawaii”

By Kelsey Ige and Shar Tuiasoa

Judge’s Comments: “This drew me in immediately. Great use of color and scale. Well done.”

Second Place: “E-Commerce in Hawaii”

By Kelsey Ige

Category: Explanatory Journalism

First Place: “Implicit Bias”

By Noelle Fujii-Oride

Judge’s Comments: “This category was very hard to judge because of the diversity of entries. Hawaii Business’ Implicit Bias project best achieved the goal: to explain a concept topic to the lay audience. Noelle Fujii-Oride drew on a mix of knowledgeable experts and community members to explain the concept of implicit bias, why it matters and how people can recognize and counteract it. The only thing that would have made the project stronger is inclusion of some dissenting voices to the basic premise.”

Category: Industry or Trade Reporting

First Place: “The Future of Local News”

By Sterling Higa

Judge’s Comments: “This was an in-depth look at the business of local news and how it got to its current state. Well-written, detailed and thorough. Great job.”

Category: Business Reporting

Second Place: “3 Ways to Pay Back Nature and Restarting Tourism” (separate stories on the tourism industry)

By LiAnne Yu and Beverly Creamer

Judge’s Comments: “Tremendous, thorough reporting and a detailed look at some of the considerations around the tourism industry.”

Category: Body of Work by a Single Writer

Second Place: Noelle Fujii-Oride

Based on five stories: Implicit Bias, Condos Part II Part III, Path to the Future, Kupuna and How to Pay $88 Billion.

Category: Best Single Feature Layout

Second Place: “The Pandemic is Not Gender Neutral”

By Amy Ngo

Category: Magazine Cover

Third Place: “Gone” (June 2020)

By Kelsey Ige and Aaron Yoshino

Judge’s Comments: “The empty beach shot is such a powerful image in telling the story of the absence of tourism last year. Keeping the headline typography simple really lets the photo do the talking.”