Martha “Marty” Steffens will receive the 2026 Distinguished Achievement Award from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW), the professional association of business journalists.
The award, the organization’s highest honor, recognizes an individual who has made a significant impact on the field of business journalism and who has been a nurturing influence on others in the profession.
“Bestowing this honor on Marty is probably the easiest decision SABEW has had to make,” said Pia Sarkar, the president of SABEW and deputy global business editor at the Associated Press. “She has touched every part of the organization and beyond. Her commitment to the profession and everyone who works in it goes far and deep and we are so grateful to Marty for her unwavering service.”
Steffens, the SABEW Endowed Chair in Business and Financial Journalism at the University of Missouri, is an internationally recognized journalism leader, educator, and global advocate for press freedom whose career spans top newsroom leadership, international training, and transformative teaching at the Missouri School of Journalism.
Before joining the faculty at Missouri, Steffens built a distinguished career in professional journalism, serving as executive editor of the San Francisco Examiner and holding senior editing roles at the Los Angeles Times and other major news organizations. She has led large newsrooms, launched publications, and guided award-winning investigative and community journalism projects.
At Missouri, where she teaches courses in business reporting and media economics, her teaching reflects the core of the Missouri Method—hands-on, real-world, and deeply connected to the profession. Students in her classes analyze live financial data, report on earnings in real time, and engage directly with industry leaders. Many of her graduates now work at organizations such as Reuters, Bloomberg, CNBC, and other leading national outlets.
Steffens is known for creating transformative learning experiences beyond the classroom. Her student reporting trips—to New York, Seattle, Austin, and other media hubs—are widely regarded as career-defining, offering students direct access to newsrooms and industry networks. She also teaches in the Chancellor’s Leadership Program, mentoring high-achieving students across disciplines.
Her impact extends globally. Steffens has trained student and professional journalists in more than 30 countries, including China, Russia, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. She helped train the first generation of women journalists in Saudi Arabia and has been recognized by colleagues as a “diplomat” for her ability to connect across cultures. Through her work, she has served as a key ambassador for the Missouri School of Journalism worldwide.
In financial journalism, Marty wrote consumer articles for the St. Paul Dispatch back in the 1970s — about how not to buy a “lemon” car and how to bargain for new appliances. Later, she worked on the business desk of the Los Angeles Times Orange County Edition, where most Friday nights were focused on bank closings during the savings and loan crisis. As an executive editor, she oversaw financial coverage and also served on the advisory board of CBS Marketwatch. While an editor in Binghamton, New York, she conceived of a massive civic economic project to help that community rise from record unemployment. The project was credited with helping bring hundreds of jobs to the Southern Tier.
Steffens has also worked in press freedom. For six years, she served on the executive board of the International Press Institute and chaired its North American Committee for Media Freedom. She has testified before the United Nations Human Rights Council and participated in international press freedom missions. She is also co-organizer of SABEW’s Goldschmidt Data Immersion workshops, one of the nation’s premier training programs for business journalists, which she helped build and sustain through major external funding.
Her scholarship and professional work include textbooks, contributions to foundational journalism texts, and ongoing research into media, ethics, and history. She is the author of Essential Economics and co-author of Reporting Disaster on Deadline, and a longtime contributor to News Reporting and Writing, the Missouri School’s foundational text.
Steffens’ teaching and professional contributions have been recognized with the University of Missouri’s highest honors, including the Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence and the Missouri Governor’s Award for Teaching Excellence. She was also named as a Distinguished Alumni of Indiana University.
Above all, Steffens is known for her enduring commitment to students. She mentors current students and alumni alike, helping them navigate careers, make professional connections, and find purpose in journalism. Her former students consistently credit her with shaping their careers—and, in many cases, their lives.
Steffens will be formally honored during SABEW’s annual conference, #SABEW26, on May 8 in Philadelphia. Dean Murphy, senior editor for enterprise at The New York Times, will lead a discussion with Steffens about how the core principles of ethical and independent journalism remain essential even as the media landscape experiences major disruptions, and about her advice for aspiring journalists looking to navigate this challenging terrain.
“Courageous business reporting is essential to a free press”, says Steffens. ”It holds power to account, reveals what others would rather keep hidden, and helps the public make sense of economic forces that shape daily life. I’m honored to stand alongside journalists who have pushed this field forward with integrity and fearlessness. Their work reminds us that business journalism is not just about markets, but about people, power, and accountability. I have tremendous respect for the craft and those who practice it at the highest level.
“I’m proud to have trained and inspired many business journalists who will carry on that courageous work in the decades to come.”
