The San Fernando Valley Business Journal has won two national business journalism awards, including Gold for best newspaper among small circulation tabloids. In addition, reporter Elliot Golan won gold for Best Scoop for a story he wrote in September on a proposed mixed-use development in Glendale. The Alliance of Area Business Publishers, a national organization of business journals and regional and state business magazines, presented its awards June 21 at its annual conference in Baltimore. The competition included more than 650 entries from 43 publications in divisions that included magazines, newspapers and online. The Business Journal’s award was the first such top honor the publication has earned. The judges, from the Missouri School of Journalism, one of the top-ranked programs in the nation, lauded the Business Journal for its news coverage. “It is exemplary in its ability to provide both quantity and quality in authoritative news reports,” the judges wrote. “Not only does coverage have breadth, but it often digs deep.” Golan’s story was about a plan by Citigroup Inc. to sell an entire city block in Glendale’s downtown. Golan beat the local press to the punch on the story, which broke the news that Amidi Group of Redwood City had submitted an application to build more than 500 live/work units. The awards follow the Journal’s performance last year, which included second place for overall excellence and a number of individual honors. The Business Journal’s sister publication Los Angeles Business Journal won the gold award this year for large-circulation business journals, in addition to a number of individual awards, including a silver for best body of work by a single reporter.
