the 2009 Business Journalist of the Year Awards

The Business Journalist of the Year Awards are widely recognised as the most important global awards for business writers and broadcasters. They are the only awards for business writers that are open to journalists of all nationalities, and the only awards to cover the entire spectrum of business and financial reporting.

The Business Journalist of the Year Awards (first presented in 1999) were created because business information had become a global commodity paying little heed to national borders. In a world where goods, services, money and knowledge move ever more freely from one domain to another, the source of business information is no longer relevant - only its quality matters. That's the spirit these awards were created in, and the spirit in which they have grown.

The Business Journalist of the Year Awards are judged exclusively by journalists and governed by the World's leading business editors. The Editors' Committee comprises Martin Dickson, Deputy Editor of the Financial Times; Robert Peston, Business Editor at the BBC; Hugo Dixon, Editor-in-Chief and Chairman of breakingviews; Jesse Lewis, Managing Editor of The Wall Street Journal Europe; and Rik Kirkland, former Managing Editor of Fortune.

The 2009 Categories:

The Best Story, Best Feature and Best Scoop categories are for a single outstanding story, irrespective of other work.

All other Categories are for a body of work published over the last year.



Best Corporate Journalist or Team (all media)

For stories dealing with companies and businesses.


Best Economics Journalist or Team (all media)

For stories dealing with economics, whether regional, national or global.


Best Finance & Markets Journalist or Team (all media)

For stories dealing with banking, finance, and/or financial markets.


Best Personal Finance Journalist or Team (all media)

For stories dealing with personal finance, savings, private investments etc.


Best Broadcast Story

Any business story, less than ten minutes long, originally transmitted on television or radio.


Best Broadcast Feature

Any business feature more than ten minutes long, originally transmitted on television or radio.


Best Magazine Story

Any business story originally published in a magazine.


Best Newspaper Story

Any business story originally published in a newspaper.


Best Scoop (all media)

Any business story, in any media, which broke important news for the first time.


Best Commentator (all print media)

Business stories that contain outstanding commentary on any business or financial topic.


Best Online/Wire Service Journalist or Team

Any story first published on a website or by a wire service.


Best Deadline or Breaking News Story (all media)

A story that contains sustained coverage of breaking news, probably over a limited period of hours or days. This category emphasises quick reactions and fast backgrounding of breaking stories, and is not for planned feature articles.


Best Communicator (all media)

For making business or financial stories accessible to a wider audience, i.e. for elucidation of complex issues.

Best Profile of a Business or Financial Figure

For an interview or feature on an influential business figure

Young Business Journalist of the Year

For a journalist under the age of thirty on 1st January 2009.

The Business Journalist of the Year

The most outstanding winner from all the previous categories.

The Decade of Excellence

For sustained excellence over the past 10 years.