Re: Nailing illustration.
I also have great fondness for editorial illustration, and you’re right, this one is right on the nose, even down to the memory stick. (shocking and sad story though).
Re: Nailing illustration.
Communication Arts Magazine has an annual competition in different fields of commercial art including illustration. You can select each year for the last 20 years from the dropdown box top right to see the winners from the last 15 or so years https://www.commarts.com/gallery?d=illustration
The two illustrations in the article you linked to would probably get into the annual.