Earlier today, HousingWire published a blog post in this spot that took the Mortgage Bankers Association to task for allegedly misrepresenting a claim in marketing its magazine, Mortgage Banking Magazine.
The gist of the original blog post that appeared was centered around the fact that Mortgage Banking Magazine had been recognized for its feature writing by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. The MBA sent out an email touting the recognition, and claiming it was the only mortgage industry magazine to be recognized for excellence in feature writing.
At first glance, the claim seemed false: that’s because HousingWire Magazine also won an award from SABEW for journalistic excellence, for a magazine feature of our own — a February 2011 explanatory cover feature that looked at the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (available here).
I’ve since come to learn that while HousingWire Magazine did win recognition from SABEW for excellence in journalism, and that recognition applied to a feature we published, we technically were recognized for “explanatory writing” and not for “feature writing.” This is a nuance, of course, but in any awards program nuances tend to mean everything.
These nuances certainly matter when it comes to marketing, as well.
What this means is that the MBA is technically correct in suggesting that their magazine was the only magazine to be recognized by SABEW specifically in the category of feature writing. As result, I’ve redacted the original blog post that appeared in this space.
I know all of us at HousingWire have enjoyed a healthy and strong relationship with the MBA over the years, and I look forward to that continuing.
I also know we are extremely proud of our own heritage of award-winning journalism, and being recognized by SABEW this past March is only part of that heritage. HousingWire Magazine also won a highly coveted Eddie Award in 2011, for example, recognized for having the best B-to-B full magazine issue in the banking/business/finance category.
And, lastly, I know all of us at HousingWire are looking forward to competing–and winning–future accolades.
