(This story contains an update to the winners list)
Traditional news organizations shared the spotlight with start-ups as the 2012 Online Journalism Awards were presented in San Francisco Saturday night. The winning entries included projects from journalists around the world and focused on topics including same-sex marriage, immigration and stand your ground laws.
On the closing day of the Online News Association’s 2012 conference, hundreds of online media practitioners gathered in the Hyatt Regency hotel, eagerly awaiting the announcement of the winners of awards in more than 30 categories.
The Online Journalism Awards banquet was hosted by PBS Newshour‘s Hari Sreenivasan for the third consecutive year. He began his performance with an allusion to actor Clint Eastwood’s memorable unscripted performance at the Republican National Convention, after an empty chair was placed next to him.
Award winners were chosen by 35 journalists and new media professionals who made their selections at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. The judges included representatives of The Los Angeles Times, CNN International, The Hong Kong Morning Post and Mother Jones magazine.
Awards for General Excellence in Online Journalism went to PBS Frontline, ProPublica, NYTimes.com and Rue89. ONA recognized each for thorough reporting and engaging design.
Preceding the General Excellence Awards were the winners of the Breaking News Awards, including WNYC and the LATimes.com. WNYC‘s incorporation of infographics with map data showed readers living in the tristate area where they would be most likely be affected by Hurricane Irene. “Journalism needs more journalists who can code,” said John Keefe during his acceptance speech for WNYC. Three years ago Keefe took his first coding class at the Online News Association conference in San Francisco.
The New York Times‘ Connecting Music and Gesture was described as an “incredible colloboration of journalism and technology coming together.” The Times tied for the award for Explanatory Reporting, Large Site, with the Guardian’s Gay Rights, State by State and Beyond.
Chris and Laura Amico of Homicide Watch D.C. received a standing ovation after the site they ran from their kitchen table for two years won the Knight Award for Public Service at the 2012 Online Journalism Awards. -- Photo by Heikki Polonen/ONA Newsroom
One crowd favorite was winner Homicide Watch D.C. “For everyone who is on their own, building a business from the ground up, this one’s for you,” said Chris Amico in accepting the award for the Knight Award for Public Service. ”We mark every death, we remember every victiim and we follow every case,” said his wife and co-founder Laura Amico.
Online News Association student newsroom participant Nicole Chavez accepted the Non-English Projects, Small/Medium Site award for Borderzine.com‘s Mexodus.
Launched in 2000 by the Online News Association in partnership with the University of Miami, the Online Journalism Awards are the only such awards in the country, acknowledging outstanding digital journalism websites. Judges evaluate independent, community, nonprofit, major media and international news sites. Through the Gannett Foundation and the Knight Foundation, cash prizes totaling $33,000 accompany eight awards this year.
Full Winners List
- Homicide Watch D.C.: Knight Award for Public Service
- PBS Frontline: General Excellence in Online Journalism, Small Site
- ProPublica: General Excellence in Online Journalism, Medium Site
- NYTimes.com: General Excellence in Online Journalism, Large Site
- Rue89: General Excellence, Non-Englsh, Small/Medium Site
- Storify: Ganett Foundation Award for Technical Innovation in the Service of Digital Journalism Site
- WNYC: Hurricane Irene Threatens New York City, Breaking News, Medium Site
- LATimes.com: Occupy L.A., Breaking News, Large Site
- Northwestern University: Planned News / Events, Small Site
- Stuff.com.nz: Planned News / Events, Medium Site
- NYTimes.com: The Reckoning – America and the World a Decade After 9/11, Planned News / Events, Large
- Earth Fix: Explanatory Reporting, Small Site
- College Competition: “Who Graduates from College, Who Doesn’t, and Why It Matters, The Chronicle of Higher Education”, Explanatory Reporting, Medium Site
- NYTimes.com (Tied): “Connecting Music and Gesture“, Explanatory Reporting, Large Site
- The Guardian (Tied): “Gay Rights, State by State (and Beyond)”, Explanatory Reporting, Large Site
- EarthFix: Topical Reporting, Small Site
- WNYC: “Continuing Coverage: NYPD Stop and Frisk, WNYC“, Topical Reporting, Medium Site
- Middle East Voices, Voice of America: Topical Reporting, Large Site
- Bear 71, National Film Board of Canada: Online Commentary, Small Site
- Slate Magazine: “Mad Men Coverage”: Online Commentary, Medium Site
- Grantland.com –Bill Simmons, ESPN: Online Commentary, Large Site
- Coal: A Love Story, Powering a Nation: Feature, Small Site
- “The Education of Dasmine Cathey,” Chronicle of Higher Education: Medium Site
- CNN, Mauritania: Feature, Large Site
- UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, Slab City Stories: Feature, Student Winner
- No Choice: Florida Charter Schools Failing to Serve Students with Disabilities, StateImpact Florida (WUSF and WLRN- News Public Radio) and the Miami Herald: Gannett Foundation Award for Innovative Investigative Journalism, Small Site
- California Watch, Broken Shield: Gannett Foundation Award for Innovative Investigative Journalism, Medium Site
- Tampa Bay Times, Stand Your Ground: Gannett Foundation Award for Innovative Investigative Journalism, Large Site
- Borderzine.com (Mexico / U.S.), Mexodus: Non-English Projects, Small/Medium Site
- Gazeta do Povo (Brazil), Portraits of Paraná: Non-English Projects, Large Site
- DePaul University, The Red Line Project — NATO Coverage, The Red Line Project: News and Online Commentary, Student Winner
