New this year: When beginning a submission in Award Force, you will be prompted to enter the email address of an active member who is listed as a contributor. The awards program will automatically verify SABEW membership and if the contributor is not an active SABEW member, the entry will be ineligible for submission until the membership has been renewed.
We encourage you to check your membership status prior to beginning a submission to ensure eligibility. To check your SABEW membership, login to the membership database. The competition is open to all SABEW members whose membership is current through June 1, 2026.
Best in Business Judges Needed: SABEW counts on its members to make the BIB contest a success. If you haven’t judged before, it’s a great way to read amazing stories, meet fellow business journalists and give back to your profession. And if you are a returning judge, welcome back! All interested judges should fill out this form.
2025 Best in Business Awards
Enter the Competition
Category Descriptions
What’s New This Year
Frequently Asked Questions
View SABEW Best in Business Past Honorees
Eligibility
This competition covers work published, broadcast and posted in the calendar year 2025. International submissions are encouraged.
Membership
The Best in Business competition is open to all SABEW members whose membership is current through June 1, 2026. All students can enter, and non-member students will receive a free one-year student membership (a savings of $25).
For entries with more than one byline, one person must have a current SABEW membership with an expiration date of June 1, 2026, or later. Entries can list up to five byline names.
You can check your membership status and expiration date by logging into the membership portal here.
Once logged in, click on subscriptions on the left-hand side. You will see a list of your memberships with the current membership at the top. If you have an institutional membership, click on the three dots on the far-right side and a list of people on your institutional membership will be displayed.
Details on joining SABEW can be found here. If you need to renew your membership, you can do that by logging into the membership portal here.
Multiple Entries
There is no limit on the number of entries per news outlet; however, any individual story may only be entered into one story type and one story topic category. For example, the same story or package of stories cannot be entered into the Investigative and Explanatory categories, both of which are story types.
Size Categories
Categories are broken out by size, determined by the news organization’s total editorial staff. News organizations compete against other similarly sized organizations, regardless of format, unless otherwise noted. Freelancers will be grouped based on the size of the outlet that published their work.
Small: 50 or less editorial staff
Medium: 51-150 editorial staff
Large: 151+ editorial staff
If an entry is the product of a partnership of two or more organizations, enter into the size category corresponding to the combined staffs of the partner organizations.
Submitting Your Entries
Submissions for the 2025 Best in Business Awards are open December 1, 2025, to February 2, 2026. Entries must be submitted through the online platform. Submissions close on Monday, February 2 at 5 p.m. ET.
Requirements
Each category has its own set of criteria for entries to be eligible. Basic requirements include a URL where the entry is live and a username and password if the entry is behind a paywall. A PDF of the entry will also be accepted.
Unless otherwise noted, an entry shall consist of no more than three elements. Elements should all contain the same theme, though they don’t need to be directly related to each other. An element can be a text, audio or video, or an interactive. Accompanying photos and static graphics will not be counted as elements.
Entries must include any corrections, retractions, or editors’ notes related to accuracy or fairness that were published in connection to the submitted work.
Byline
Up to five individuals may be named on an entry. They should be the strongest contributors to the work. Entries where more than five journalists made substantial contributions must be submitted as a staff entry and individuals will not be named on the award.
Editing Entries
Entries can be saved and edited until the deadline, but corrections cannot be made to entries after submitting. Please verify that all the information in your entry is correct before submitting.
Entry Fees
Entry fees are based on the date of your submission.
Deadlines:
Early-bird deadline — Thursday, January 8, 2026, at 5 p.m. ET
Competition deadline — Wednesday, January 28, 2026, at 5 p.m. ET
Late deadline — Monday, February 2, 2026, at 5 p.m. ET
Fees (dependent on deadline):
- General Excellence categories — $130 / $150 / $200
- Story Type, Story Topic categories and Best Range of Work — $79 / $99 / $150
- Students (includes a free, one-year student membership; a $25 savings) — $20
Freelance journalists receive a $15 discount per entry using the code Freelancer. This code may not be used for student category entries.
Copyright and Right of Use
No part of any entry will be returned. SABEW reserves the right to use any part or the whole of any entry for publicity, educational or promotional purposes.
