Anyone in business journalism knows full well the power of the Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism. Loeb was a founding partner of E.F. Hutton and a noted author and columnist, and the awards he created in 1957 to promote and recognize great writing and reporting for individual investors have become something akin to the Pulitzer Prizes of business news—the highest honor the field has. To put it mildly, invoking the E.F. Hutton slogan, when the Loeb Awards talk, people listen.
So it is with great pleasure that I share with our readers, underwriters, and other supporters the news announced today that Xconomy National Biotech Editor Luke Timmerman has been named one of four finalists in the blogging category of this year’s Loeb Awards. (This is highly deserved, since Luke can do it all—from breaking news to in-depth profiles to his insightful, extremely popular BioBeat column.)
It is a particularly great honor because Xconomy is the only independent, standalone blog represented in any of this year’s 13 categories, which span newspapers, magazines, books, breaking news, commentary, and more. The other three finalists in the blogging category hail from The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Reuters.
Xconomy is not yet five years old, and to be named alongside such venerable and respected organizations is a great honor—and a tribute not just to Luke but to the entire Xconomy team that works hard each day to bring great journalism and in-depth reporting to our readers. We firmly believe there is still a place for objective, high-quality news, features, and analysis in this day and age of content inundation from all spheres—much of it poorly vetted, or written simply to drive page views—and it is especially gratifying to have that dedication recognized.
Winners will be announced at a banquet in New York on June 26. Thank you Loeb Awards—and congratulations (and good luck) to Luke!