To win again.

• Author: Kinney, David
• Position: UP FRONT

Consistency is one of the keys to quality, and if this year's Alliance of Area Business Publications Editorial Excellence Awards are any indication, we have that in plenty around here. BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA won five, same as last year. In fact, four were in the same categories--three of them the very same prizes.

Ed Martin's cover story on the Canton floods (July 2005) took the gold prize for best magazine feature, the fourth year in a row he's won it--and the sixth time in seven years that a BNC writer has. Here's what the judges, members of the University of Missouri journalism faculty, had to say:

"Part of what makes this story compelling is its subject matter. Citizens in a small town survive for a century because of its paper mill and the river that drives it, even though both can also bring tragedy in the form of pollution or floods. But it's the strong, narrative quality of the writing that makes this article an award winner."

They continued in that vein in awarding Ed the silver prize for best body of magazine work by a single writer. (He got the bronze last year, after winning the gold three years running.) "The leads are inviting and take the reader sensually to the stories through description and by establishing momentum. The stories contain interesting facts and concepts that are clearly presented and invite reader involvement by offering points of identification."

We took top prize for best magazine or newspaper headlines for the third year in a row. "These headlines are golden because they are clever, clear and a good match for the stories they serve. Each main head links to a carefully written deck that carries through its style and tone. Together they accurately sum up the story and draw the reader into the article...