Financial World was an American magazine for investors that operated from 1902 to 1998. The magazine was known for its annual "Bronze Award", given to whomever it deemed that year's top corporate CEO.
| Categories | Business |
|---|---|
| Format | Biweekly magazine |
| Founder | Louis Guenther |
| Founded | 1902 in Chicago |
| Final issue | 1998 |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | New York |
| Language | English |
| ISSN | 0015-2064 |
Publication history
Financial World was founded in 1902 by Louis Guenther in Chicago and later moved to New York.[1][2] It was originally issued weekly, and later every two weeks.
In 1980, Macro Communications owned the magazine. By the 1980s, the magazine was known for publishing annual lists of the year's top money-makers. As of 1983, Financial World specialized in information for individual investors.[1] Carl Lindner Jr. purchased the magazine in 1983; it was sold to Barry Rupp, Steve Rupp, and Timothy Draper in 1995.[2]
In the magazine's later years of publication, its signature issue was the "Sports Franchise Valuation Issue". In its last years, this feature was prepared by Andrew Zimbalist, who became a contributor to Forbes.
Bronze awards
Annual reports
In 1942, Vice President and Business Editor Weston Smith surveyed the shareholder annual reports for 1941 of 500 corporations listed on the New York Stock Exchange, evaluating how each report had improved the structure and quality of information presented when compared to the company's 1931 report.[4] The following year, he expanded the survey to 766 corporations, both listed and unlisted, and awarded "Highest Merit Award" and "Honorable Mention" certificates for each industry category that were mailed to the presidents of the companies.[4] The "Highest Merit Award" was for reports considered modern, while "Honorable Mention" was for reports that had shown significant improvement from 10 years before.[4] The judging criteria included format, content and illustrations, typography, and public relations appeal.[5] 318 were considered virtually unchanged, and Smith noted that some company reports had used the same style or content for over 25 years.[4] Smith stated that the purpose of his annual report surveys was to foster continual improvement.[5]
For the 1944 survey, over 2,000 companies submitted their 1943 annual reports to the magazine for inclusion. 1,000 reports qualified for the "Highest Merit Award" or an "Honorable Mention".[5] In response to popular demand for selecting a best report from each industry category, the magazine formed an independent board of experts with members Lewis Haney (finance and economics), Norman Bel Geddes (industrial arts), Glenn Griswold (business and industry), Raymond C. Mayer (public relations), and C. Norman Stabler (financial journalism).[6] The industry winners were announced in the August 9, 1945 issue, with Brown & Bigelow being awarded for "Outstanding Annual Report of the Year", and Pan American Airways being awarded "Best Original Annual Report Cover Design".[7]
The first annual awards dinner was held on October 2, 1945, at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.[8][9] The awards presented were the "best of industry" awards, which the magazine dubbed the "Oscar of Industry", a gold award for the overall winner (Caterpillar Tractor Company), second through fifth place awards, and two awards for cover designs.[9]
Moving forward, the awards were divided into industrial classifications (100 in 1948), with the winner of each classification receiving a bronze award.[10] The overall winner received a gold award, and multiple silver awards were given in various broader industry categorizations.[11] Judging criteria included good design, graphics, completeness of information, and uniformity of data.[12] Information looked for included the cost and nature of acquisitions, lines of business breakdowns, company products, sales, marketing and advertising, taxes, future financing plans, research and development, and public relations programs.[12]
| Year | Company |
|---|---|
| 1945 | Caterpillar Tractor Company[9] |
| 1946 | Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad[13] |
| 1947 | Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad[14] |
| 1948 | Marquette Cement Manufacturing Company[10] |
| 1949 | Standard Oil Company[15] |
| 1950 | General Motors[16] |
| 1953 | Illinois Central Railroad[17] |
| 1954 | Eastman Kodak[18] |
| 1955 | Pennsylvania Railroad Company[19] |
| 1957 | Marquette Cement Manufacturing Company[20] |
| 1958 | Ford Motor Company[21] |
| 1959 | Hilton Hotels Corporation[22] |
| 1960 | Standard Accident Insurance Company[23] |
| 1963 | General Electric[24] |
| 1964 | Xerox[25] |
| 1967 | Glidden Company[26] |
| 1971 | Eastern Air Lines[27] |
| 1972 | Lowe's Companies[28] |
| 1988 | Times Mirror Company[29] |
CEO of the year
The magazine began awarding its CEO of the Year award in 1975.[30] Like the annual report awards, bronze awards were given for the best in each industry category (52 in 1983), silver awards, and a gold award for the overall winner.[31]
| Year | CEO | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Rick de Lome | ||
| Mary Lynn Van Dyken | ||
| Jim Zahrt | ||
| 1982 | Raymond Mundt | |
| 1983 | Lee Iacocca[31] | Chrysler Corporation |
| 1990 | Amy Ink | |
| 1993 | Donald Haberek | |
| 1994 | Ronald L. Bittner | |
| 1995 | Ronald L. Bittner | |
| 1996 | Brian Engel |
Special awards
| Year | Recipient | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | New York Stock Exchange[23] | The company's "leadership in encouraging greater dissemination of share ownership information."[23] |
| 1964 | Commonwealth of Puerto Rico[25] | "for distinguished achievement in the annual reports of the public corporations and authorities"[25] |
Notable alumni of Financial World
- Stacey Bradford, financial journalist, author, and commentator
- Dan Cordtz, economics correspondent
- Dan Dorfman, television and print commentator and columnist[32]
- Seth Hoyt, former publisher of Cosmopolitan Magazine[33]
- Joseph Livingston, FW public utility editor in 1934[34]
- Douglas McIntyre, technology entrepreneur[35]
- Richard Sandomir, television, sports, and business reporter
- Anson Weston Smith, executive vice-president, father of the famous radio DJ 'Wolfman Jack'
- John Hancock Willing Rhein, III, Sr. VP, Associate Publisher (1973–1982)
- Andrew Zimbalist, economist and author
References
- ^ a b Dougherty, Philip H. (Dec 29, 1983). "Financial Magazine's New Era". Advertising. p. D13.
- ^ a b c Leonard, Devin (3 August 1998). "Financial World Magazine Collapses Under Gung-Ho Owner Barry Rupp". The New York Observer. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- ^ Abrams, Margaret. "A Trend Forecaster Tells Us What to Expect for Spring 2018". The New York Observer. Archived from the original on 25 October 2009. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- ^ a b c d Smith, Weston (June 30, 1943). "Annual survey of annual stockholder reports". Financial World. Vol. 79, no. 26. New York, New York: Guenther Publishing Corporation. pp. 3–4, 24–26.
- ^ a b c Smith, Weston (July 5, 1944). "Annual survey of annual stockholder reports". Financial World. Vol. 82, no. 1. New York, New York: Guenther Publishing Corporation. pp. 3–4, 27–32.
- ^ "Announcing the Formation of an Independent Board of Experts". Financial World. Vol. 82, no. 1. New York, New York: Guenther Publishing Corporation. July 5, 1944. p. 4.
- ^ "Report of Independent Experts". Financial World. Vol. 82, no. 6. New York, New York: Guenther Publishing Corporation. August 9, 1945. p. 5.
- ^ "'Best of Industry' Selections for 1944 Annual Reports". Financial World. Vol. 83, no. 14. New York, New York: Guenther Publishing Corporation. October 3, 1945. p. 5.
- ^ a b c "Prizes are awarded". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Vol. CV, no. 177 (Final ed.). New York. Associated Press. October 3, 1945. p. 15.
- ^ a b "'New Haven' Wins Group Award For Annual Report Ads". Hartford Courant. Vol. CXII (Final City ed.). Associated Press. October 22, 1948. p. 20.
- ^ "Warnaco report wins top 'Oscar'". The Bridgeport Post. Vol. XCII, no. 250 (County ed.). October 24, 1975. p. 36.
- ^ a b "Harleysville Annual Report Wins Financial World Award". News-Herald (Perkasie, Pennsylvania). Vol. 95, no. 4930. November 19, 1975. p. 18.
- ^ "Snyder sees need to keep taxes up". The New York Times. Vol. XCVI, no. 32396 (Late City ed.). October 5, 1946. p. 21.
- ^ "Canadian Reports Win High Honors". The Gazette (Montreal). Vol. 170. October 11, 1947. p. 12.
- ^ Suttle, Howard. "Industry 'Oscars' Awarded". Liftin' the Lid on Washington. Shreveport Journal. Vol. 54 (Wednesday Afternoon ed.). p. 6.
- ^ "Sloan urges all to acquire stock". The New York Times. Vol. C, no. 33883 (Late City ed.). October 31, 1950. p. 43.
- ^ "Illinois Central Wins Gold Oscar". The New York Times. Vol. CIII, no. 34975 (Late City ed.). October 27, 1953. p. 39.
- ^ "Kodak top winner with year report". The New York Times. Vol. CIV, no. 35339 (Late City ed.). October 26, 1954. p. 40.
- ^ "Pennsy line wins prize for report". The New York Times. Vol. CV, no. 35703 (Late City ed.). October 25, 1955. p. 45.
- ^ "Gold Award for 1956 Stockholders Report To Marquette Cement". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Vol. 83, no. 140. October 29, 1957. p. 27.
- ^ "Ford Wins 'Oscar of Industry' Award For Best Annual Report Issued for '57". The New York Times. Vol. CVIII, no. 36802 (Late City ed.). October 28, 1958. p. 58.
- ^ "Hilton '58 report wins gold award". The New York Times. Vol. CIX, no. 37166 (Late City ed.). October 27, 1959. p. 49.
- ^ a b c "Insurer wins 'Oscar'". The New York Times. Vol. CX, no. 37530 (Late City ed.). October 25, 1960. p. 51.
- ^ "G.E. Annual Report Wins Financial World's Award". The New York Times. Vol. CXIII, no. 38631 (Late City ed.). October 31, 1963. p. 41.
- ^ a b c "Xerox Corp. Wins Award For Its Stockholder Report". The New York Times. Vol. CXIV, no. 38993 (Late City ed.). October 28, 1964. p. 67.
- ^ "Glidden to Get Oscar For Its Annual Report". The New York Times. Vol. CXVII, no. 40086 (Late City ed.). October 25, 1967. p. 72.
- ^ "Eastern Air Lines to Get Trophy for Its '70 Report". The New York Times. Vol. CXXI, no. 41548 (Late City ed.). October 26, 1971. p. 66.
- ^ "Award Is Won by Retailer For Corporation Report". The New York Times. Vol. CXXII, no. 41914 (Late City ed.). October 26, 1972. p. 65.
- ^ "GMP wins bronze award for annual report". The Brattleboro Reformer. Vol. 76, no. 197. October 21, 1988. p. 6.
- ^ "Interstate/Johnson Lane's CEO earns Bronze Award". The Index Journal. Vol. 76, no. 49 (Sunday ed.). April 3, 1994. p. 5B. |
- ^ a b Davis, Pati (April 21, 1983). "S&L presifdent wins national honors". Fort Myers News-Press. Vol. 99, no. 151. p. 17A.
- ^ "Dan Dorfman Joins Magazine". The New York Times. 4 December 1996. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- ^ Fabrikant, Geraldine (11 March 1992). "Vogue's Plans for Centennial - A Big Issue and a Big Party". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- ^ Livingston, Joseph A. (October 28, 1979). "An idea whose time hadn't come". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Vol. 301, no. 120. p. 18 Today section. Retrieved March 30, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Douglas A. McIntyre". Huffington Post. Retrieved 19 February 2016.