Florida Trend receives 6 'Editorial Excellence' honors from the Alliance of Area Business Publishers

The Alliance of Area Business Publishers (AABP) presented its annual Editorial Excellence awards to newspaper and magazine business periodicals at the closing celebration of its three-day annual Summer Conference on June 26, 2023, in Detroit, Michigan.

The annual AABP Editorial Excellence competition recognizes excellence in journalism, photography and design achieved by regional business publications.

The awards were judged by faculty members from the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

Awarded to Florida Trend at the AABP conference:

• Best Use of Photography/Illustrations – Magazines [Bronze]
  Gary Bernloehr, Jason Morton — The judges said: "Visuals are presented in combination of interesting ways that include well-executed illustrations, informative graphics and documentary photography. Cover images are eye-catching and pop off the page. Environmental portraits that accompany the Icons feature are particularly strong. Breathing Space opening image is attention-grabbing, beautiful and played well across the pages."
• Best Use of Multimedia [Bronze]
  “Break Through”; Robb Lee, David Denor — The judges said: "Leading innovation, Red 6 and Enterprise Florida team up to find solutions by connecting Florida to the international market. Florida Trend captures important conversations from the companies’ leaders through a high-quality production video."
• Best Feature, Single Story [Gold]
  “Difficult by Design”; Mike Vogel, reporter — The judges said: "This is a delicious and detailed story of the goings on in the ultra rich community of Palm Beach, where even movie stars have home design plans rejected by an opinionated architectural board. In one case, actor Sylvester Stallone wants to replace a chain link fence with a wooden gateway but runs into lengthy resistance. It is a cautionary tale about the entanglement of wealth, power and government. The story offers rare access to sources, fantastic quotes and real behind-the-scenes insight."
• Best Body of Work, Single Writer [Silver]
  Mike Vogel — The judges said: "Fascinating details gleaned from court records and other public documents provide the basis for spell-binding stories about how even the wealthy can face home improvement roadblocks and how one attorney prompted insurers to cry foul."
• Best Recurring Feature [Silver]
  “Icon”; Art Levy, associate editor — The judges said: "This Q&A-style profile series leads its subjects into topics others fear to go, offering cutting insight into political misrepresentation, gridlock and sexism from subjects with widely diverse life experiences.
• Best Bylined Commentary [Silver]
  “Editor’s Page”; Vickie Chachere, editor — The judges said: "Vivid writing, strong opening lines and a friendly, approachable voice create a visual imagery that carries the reader quickly and easily through these columns. They highlight positive community achievements such as personal financial literacy education prior to high school and a return of local pride in Florida’s revived lunar mission."

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