Telling stories.

• Author: Kinney, David
• Position: Up Front

It's getting to be a habit. For the third year in a row, Senior Editor Ed Martin won the gold prize for best body of work by a magazine reporter in the Association of Area Business Publications Editorial Excellence Awards.

Once again the judges--members of the University of Missouri journalism faculty--lauded his gift for spinning a tale. "Edward Martin uses solid storytelling techniques to bring business stories alive. Nice detail helps create complete people in stories that might otherwise rely on disembodied voices to spout facts and figures. Relating business and economics to people is Martin's strength."

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He also took first prize for best magazine feature, which he also won last year. This time it was for December's cover story on Oregon Inlet, written with free-lancer Peter Galuszka: "Combining a shipwreck and a daring rescue with the critical business, environmental, transportation and safety issues that affect an important waterway, business reporting comes to life. The reporter was able to capture the voices of people asserting conflicting interests and, through their words and viewpoints, reveal the complex decisions this state will need to make."

And his work in last year's Business Handbook was one reason it captured a gold prize for best explanatory journalism in the category open to both magazines and newspapers. "This issue of the magazine provides a clear, in-depth look at the economic problems that plague Eastern North Carolina and potentially threaten the rest of the state. All of the elements--the stories, photographs, charts and maps--stay sharply focused on the big picture. The cover story, Down East, does a remarkable job of...