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It’s time to officially announce the winner of this past week’s Award for Best Article (or SPABA, as we like to call it).

This was one of the closest races ever seen. Three newspapers could have easily taken the prize (including one split vote). But in the end, Banach came out and led the pack.

Here are the numbers for SPABA (Feb 14-21):

1."Bored Of eRepublik? Wishing There Was More To Do? 3 Part Series" by Banach of The Ottawa
Guardian. -- 36% [7 Votes ]

2."Party for the Parties – 3 Part Series” by Alias Vision of The Freeholder Press.-- 26% [5 Votes]

3."Keeping Boomers - Our Untapped Potential” by Dade Pendwyn of The Boomer Bugle.--21%
[4 Votes]

4."Enhancing Our Prosperity: eCanada's Sleeping Population” by Dade Pendwyn of The Boomer
Bugle.--10% [ 2 Votes]

5."Goodbye Canada! :3” by Bong of Koran Komik.--5% [1 Vote]

Total Votes : 19

Congratulations, honours, and a 50 CAD prize go out to Banach for his enlightening series “Bored of eRepublik? Wishing There Was More To Do?”

We do have a special treat for those who want to read on and learn about what it takes to create excellent articles. The winner of last week, Alias Vision, will offer us his take on eRep journalism alongside of this week’s golden boy, Banach.

Here is what we learned after speaking with two of eCanada’s top journalists:

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Shameless Plug: What thought process and/or research methods go into preparing an in-depth interview with eCanada officials?

Alias Vision: I read a lot... basically every article that get's written in eCanada and a fair amount internationally. I also read everything on the eCanada Forums. If I'm writing an article that will quote numbers, I make sure I get the best source for them and if possible look at historical trends. When choosing who to interview so far, I've tried to go with the more visible members of our community.

SP: Do you just go with your gut feeling about what to ask or do you work your way through platform announcements and other such releases to focus your article?

AV: A little of both. It's important to go with your gut about some things because that usually means it's something that is important to you or interesting. If it's interesting to you, then it is more likely to appeal to others as well. Sometimes instincts are too random and that is where working through what has been written or published already becomes important. I seem to be doing ok too in anticipating responses... not to say that I know what will be answered but I've covered enough ground to get a feel for what is coming. This allows me to ask all my questions at once and for the people I'm interviewing it allows them plenty time to think and answer fully. I try to keep in mind response burden and keep it minimal.

SP: You have interviewed a number of important eCanada politicians as of late. What is your purpose in providing this type of media for eCanadians?

AVI felt it was important for eCanada to hear from its leader. For the Zanalan interview there was a lot of commotion and potentially explosive issues (strikes, PEACE, etc). For the three part series it was in preparation for the Congress elections. There is a lot at stake when Congress is chosen and I wanted people to at least reflect a little bit on the process and their parties. Overall I try to be helpful. What you see in your profile and in the rankings is only part of the story, and enough the most insignificant part, I'm trying to highlight some of the currents that comprises life in eCanada.

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Next, we spoke to Banach about his work at the Ottawa Guardian:

SP: The Shameless Plug has always considered Ottawa Guardian and its OG Literary Awards as the big brother of literary competition in eCanada. With that leading role, what do you hope to accomplish in shaping the literary landscape of eCanada and eRepublik in general? Will there be more OG Awards to come or other literary projects introduced?

Banach: I do pride myself in being one of the first to award eRepublikans for their media skill as I always thought its as important a module in eRepublik as war and politics. What I hope to bring about through these literary awards is a passion for good writing which I hope will spread to positive journalism around the world and perhaps catch the attention of the admins. In the end, if the admins really get into gear and make the media module a concept with payed subscriptions, filters, newspaper ratings, ability to hire writers, etc. etc. it will make the literary awards that much more effective in my opinion, they were designed to showcase the love of writing eRepublikans have.

Will there be more? For sure, it takes a looong time to organize and judge and sponsor so, meh, it'll come, just not in the coming weeks!

SP: It would seem that the Ottawa Guardian is eCanada’s most likely candidate for our first Media Mogul. Do you think this endeavour has special significance for our nation? Are we missing out on anything by not yet having a Canadian Media Mogul?

B: Special significance? Of course there is. Media Mogul has come to symbol a nation's activity and prestige, in my opinion at least. If we get the OG up to there it'll be a testament to what Canadians can achieve eh?

We are not missing out by not having Media Mogul but once I get it (soon hopefully) we will just be that much more successful as a nation-it will show the other nations that we care about our media and support our writers!

SP: The winning article for this week’s SPABA seemed to come from a realization that we need to motivate discouraged players and help maintain a healthy level of activity. What gave you the inspiration to compile such a list of gameplay options?

B: You're right, there is a need to motivate players. This article came about during a time of a population increase (baby boom) that flooded Canada with many new, potentially beneficial players! Sadly, few players out of every batch of registrees seem to be productive so it is necessary to get them interested early on and show them the way! Also, I'm a communist, we love to include all people, tell them they have potential to go far.

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We finished off our interviews by asking each SPABA winner about their writing habits and their advice to us:

SP: Writing quality news stories is not a simple process and is most likely not financially rewarding in eRepublik. Nevertheless, what makes you want to invest so much effort into putting out series-length articles?

Alias Vision: To write... you have to start by writing. With time, you become a better writer. So there is that. The other part is I think newspaper are very important in the context of the eWorld. They can shape policy, they can shape public opinion. Having a paper that matters is a great challenge and one that gets my creative juices flowing. Sometimes you need to go with series-length articles simply because your sources are that good or there is that much to say.

Banach: I love writing, simple as that. I feel a need to provide Canada, and wherever else with quality news and entertainment. The financial reward isn't really necessary but there are many other rewards for quality participation in the media (respect, popularity, promotion of things important to you).

SP: Do you have any tantalizing article ideas in the works? What do you plan to write on next?

AV: As of the time of anwering these questions the Congress elections are taking place. I will be providing coverage for that. I will also write a follow up article like I did last elections. At some point in the future there is going to be a re-print of the Help Files with more content (expect to see Kelly, Dade and Banach featured prominently... those three are the best sources for new citizen material).

I do have two other ideas... one would focus more on the economy and one would have an international flavour. I'm not quite ready to start either just yet as they will require quite a bit of prep work and the participation of people who may have never heard of me before. We'll see how that goes...

B: I don't plan on writing articles, heh. I just get an idea and get to it very quickly. So, unfortunately, I do not have an article in the works, or planning on making one. To add, I write my articles in one sitting to not lose my train of thought, of course, series aren't written in one day.

SP: Is there any advice you can offer new eCanadians about putting together a newspaper or their next article?

AV: Don't do it if you expect to make money... right now there is no money in punditry. Do it because you are interested, because you want to inform the public or even because you want to inform yourself. It is completely legitimate to write an article to fill in our knoweldge. Be patient. The articles that take the longest to put together are often the ones that drop out of sight the fastest, don't get discouraged and keep at it. Positive feedback will come and it makes it all worth it.

In parting I want to say that I am always available to answer any questions anyone has. Asking questions can be your most precious commodity around here, remember that. And remember to have fun.

B: Advice? I'm not one to give advice! All I can say is that there are a few basic tips that will, sadly, separate you from hundreds of other really annoying papers:
-use proper spelling and grammar
-edit and double check
-add in some links to your paper from around eRepublik
-have a creative title
-write up eRepublik news only, not real life

There are more, but hey, that'd be too easy eh?
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Let’s end this award ceremony with a round of thanks to all those who voted in the polls and, especially, to the runners-up. It was a close one, proving that we have some strong writers in our country.

The next round of nominees will be out on Sunday, as usual. However, expect more to come as The Shameless Plug looks to expand into new territory.