Hawaii Business journalism awards led the field Wednesday as the magazine collected 23 statewide honors, including nine first-place prizes, at the annual Society of Professional Journalists Hawaiʻi Chapter awards dinner. According to organizers, the outlet earned more first-place and overall awards than any other media organization.
Earlier this year, the magazine was named Best Magazine by the Alliance of Area Business Publishers, one of six national awards recognizing its journalism, design and digital work. It marked the fifth time in nine years the publication received the national honor for best regional business magazine.
Both the state and national awards presented this year recognize work published in 2025. The state contest was judged by journalists from SPJ’s San Diego and East Tennessee chapters.
Hawaii Business journalism awards highlight reporting
Managing Editor Ken Wills won first place in Government Reporting for “He Served His Country. His Country Ordered Him to Leave,” about Purple Heart Army veteran Sae Joon Park. Judges said Wills “takes us behind the scenes as a crisis unfolds.” Wills also took first place in Business Reporting for “Matson Keeps Hawai‘i Well-Stocked.”
Wills earned three third-place awards as well. “Kaua‘i Pediatrician Who Warned About One Toxic Pesticide Sees a Bigger Threat” placed third in both Government Reporting and Science Reporting. He also received third place for Body of Work by a Single Writer.
Senior contributing writer Cynthia Wessendorf received first place in Feature Writing/Long Form for “Lahaina Is Rising, Slowly,” a deeply reported look at the community’s recovery from the 2023 wildfires. Judges called it “superb community journalism,” noting its crisp writing, strong photography and compelling, human-centered storytelling.
Wessendorf also earned second place for the A-Mark Prize for Investigative Reporting for “Bad Jobs,” which examined how many women in Hawaiʻi still encounter sexual harassment, discrimination, unequal treatment and other toxic workplace practices. Judges described it as “a powerful wake-up call to the state’s business community.”
Design, visuals and special sections earn top marks
The magazine won first place for Overall Page Design, with judges praising Art Director Jeff Sanner’s range, creativity and visual storytelling. Sanner also won first place for Magazine Cover for the June issue, “Likes, Follows and Paychecks,” exploring how local social media influencers earn a living or offset costs.
Sanner earned another first-place finish for Editorial Cartoon/Illustration for artwork accompanying the February report, “Hawai‘i’s Housing Crisis Was Decades in the Making.” That housing report also brought Contributing Writer Kathryn Drury Wagner first place for Best Explanatory Journalism.
The publication additionally took first place in the Special Section category for its February 2025 70th Anniversary package, which included Wagner’s housing crisis reporting.
Digital work recognized with multiple awards
The outlet received three awards for the online I.C.E. Map, a collaboration by Wills and the digital team of Randall Libramonte and Marianne Leano. The crowdsourced project, which tracked reports of raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, won first place for Informational Graphic and two second-place awards in Data Journalism and Multimedia Presentation.
Additional honors across the newsroom
- Staff writer Ryann Noelani Coules earned two second-place awards: Feature Writing/Long Form for “I Donated a Kidney to a Stranger – and Maybe You Should Too,” and Business Reporting for “Not Grown in Hawai‘i.”
- The magazine won second place in Industry or Trade Reporting for a five-story package on real estate and land issues by Wagner, Coules, Perry Arrasmith and Shelby Mattos.
- Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Ablan received second place in Feature Writing/Short Form for “UH President Wendy Hensel on Listening, Innovating and Reimagining the Classroom.”
- A collaboration between Editor Steve Petranik and Sanner on the fall 2025 BOSS Survey earned second place in Informational Graphics.
- Contributing writer Ann Auman won third place in Best Explanatory Journalism for a two-part report on “AI in Education.”
- Staff photographer Aaron Yoshino received third place in Feature Photography/Videography for a photo essay accompanying the Matson report.
- The team also secured third place for headline writing.
Student achievements noted
The evening also recognized the accomplishments of the magazine’s current SPJ summer intern, Kiani Vidaurri, who earned three student journalism awards at the University of Hawai‘i: second place in Investigative Journalism, second in Sports Journalism and third in Feature Journalism. Overall, UH students won 24 awards in student-only categories.
