You’ve probably heard a million times by now that the economy is becoming ever more global. If the baht goes batty on the Bangkok currency exchange someone could lose his job in Baltimore. Eliminating trade barriers means that low-paying, obsolete jobs in Omaha flee oversees and are replaced by higher-level, better-paying ones. At least that’s the way it is supposed to work. Reality is often ugly, however, and that’s what we found last August when we published a special report titled "Globalization Hits Home," which detailed how the North American Free Trade Agreement and other pacts were decimating traditional clothes-makers in Danville, Martinsville and other parts of Southside Virginia.

After publisher Jim Bacon came up with the idea for the special report last summer, we quickly assembled a team of reporters, including veteran Richmond-based journalist Page Boinest Melton, who prepared our lead story, and our former editorial assistant Holly M. Rodriguez, who wrote of the rising tide of Hispanics in the Old Dominion. We thought it would be useful to get some reporting from other countries so I called an old friend and colleague of mine, Geri Smith, Mexico City Bureau Chief for BusinessWeek. She recommended stringer Leslie Moore who set to work finding out what happens after U.S. firms take their plants to cheaper labor south of the border. Contributing Art Director Elizabeth B. Coffey put together a wonderfully attractive design and photographer Mark Rhodes snapped pictures. Finally, Jim weighed in with a commentary noting that as painful as free trade may be, it is here to stay.

On June 11, we received the happy news that our special report won the Gold Award, first place in the national annual competition sponsored by the Association of Area Business Publications. We won for the best local treatment of a national issue in the contest that was judged by professors at the University of Missouri journalism school. While we don’t know who our actual competitors were, the AABP contest draws entries by Crain’s publications in New York, Chicago and Detroit, along with Florida Trend Magazine, Business North Carolina and other major regional business publications.

A little more than a year ago, we began a concerted effort to improve Virginia Business. We redesigned the magazine and upgraded our reporting and writing. The AABP award seems to show we are moving forward. Hopefully, we’ll get even better and provide more quality business journalism for our readers in the Old Dominion.