Finalists for the 2010 Online Journalism Awards announced

WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 28, 2010 – Finalists for the 2010 Online Journalism Awards, many pushing the envelope of innovation and excellence in digital storytelling and distribution, were announced today by the Online News Association and its partner, the School of Communication at the University of Miami.

A team of 12 journalists representing a diverse cross-section of the industry met at the university's Coral Gables, Fla., campus and seven more conferred internationally to select the finalists, which range from independent and nonprofit news and community sites to major media and international organizations. The winners will be announced at the 2010 ONA Conference and Online Journalism Awards Banquet on Saturday, Oct. 30, at the Marriott Renaissance in Washington, D.C.

This year, changes were introduced to acknowledge the growing importance of emerging platforms such as tablets and mobile devices. Six awards now come with a total of $33,000 in prize money, courtesy of the Gannett Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and new categories honor outstanding work on investigative news sites.

"We were struck this year by the increase in the quality and quantity of strong investigative work," said Anthony Moor, Lead Local Editor at Yahoo!, who, along with AP Digital's Director of Global Product Operations Ruth Gersh, co-chairs the Online Journalism Awards Committee. "As digital news comes of age, journalists are finding inventive ways to honor the core values of their craft."

The finalists are:

Knight Award for Public Service
The Las Vegas Sun and the Greenspun Media Group: Do No Harm
Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Flipping Fraud
The Roanoke Times | roanoke.com: I-81: Fear, Facts and the Future

Gannett Foundation Award for Technical Innovation in the Service of Digital Journalism
AP Stylebook Application, site, Twitter feed (1, 2, 3)
CNN iPhone App with iReport integrated
NPR API

General Excellence in Online Journalism, Micro Site
California Watch and the Center for Investigative Reporting
Gotham Gazette
St. Louis Beacon

General Excellence in Online Journalism, Small Site
ProPublica
The Texas Tribune | texastribune.org
voiceofsandiego.org

General Excellence in Online Journalism, Medium Site
The Las Vegas Sun and the Greenspun Media Group
Army Times Publishing Company: Military Times
Mother Jones
Salon Media Group: Salon.com

General Excellence in Online Journalism, Large Site
msnbc.com
NPR: NPR.ORG
New York Media: Nymag.com
The New York Times

General Excellence in Online Journalism, Non-English, Small Site
Cyberpresse.ca
OWNI
Local Foods Yahoo!Taiwan

General Excellence in Online Journalism, Non-English, Large Site
EL PAÍS
SA LA NACION
G1 - TV Globo

Breaking News, Small Site
The Oklahoman / NewsOK.com Staff: May 10 Tornados
The Tennessean: Nashville Flood

Breaking News, Large Site
Boston.com: The death of Edward M. Kennedy
CBC News: G20 Summit
CNN.com: Haiti Earthquake
The Seattle Times: Four Police Officers Slain
The New York Times: Haiti Earthquake Coverage

Specialty Site Journalism, Affiliated
BBC News: Election 2010
CHOW.com
NPR: NPR Music

Specialty Site Journalism, Independent
Curbed Network: Curbed.com
Design Observer Group: Design Observer
theheart.org by WebMD

Gannett Foundation Award for Innovative Investigative Journalism, Small Site
The Center for Public Integrity: Sexual Assault on Campus: A Frustrating Search for Justice
ProPublica, the New Orleans Times-Picayune and Frontline: Law and Disorder
Vancouver Sun: Vanishing Point: A five-part investigative series
voiceofsandiego.org: Out of Reach

Gannett Foundation Award for Innovative Investigative Journalism, Large Site
The Las Vegas Sun and the Greenspun Media Group: Do No Harm
The Los Angeles Times: Toyota: Road to Recall
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Justice Delayed, Dismissed, Denied
NPR, ProPublica, Frontline: Brain Wars: How the Military is Failing the Wounded
The New York Times: Toxic Waters

Multimedia Feature Presentation, Small Site
ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Innovation: Black Saturday
National Film Board of Canada: This Land
News21: Powering a Nation

Multimedia Feature Presentation, Medium Site
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, Domani Studios, The Martin Agency, AOL, AOL News, AOL SHOUTcast: We Choose the Moon
The Denver Post: American Soldier
The Las Vegas Sun and Greenspun Media Group: Bottoming Out

Multimedia Feature Presentation, Large Site
NPR: Grand Trunk Road
Reuters, Online News and the Thomson Reuters Foundation: Surviving the Tsunami – Stories of Hope
The New York Times: Held by the Taliban
USATODAY: Vancouver Olympics

Multimedia Feature Presentation, Student
S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University: SyracuseDiners.com
UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism: A Seed is Forever
UNC School of Journalism: Living Galapagos
Western Kentucky University Fleischaker-Greene Scholars: Farm to Fork: Investigating Agriculture

Online Topical Reporting/Blogging, Small Site
The Center for Public Integrity: Disaster in the Gulf (1, 2)
FLORIDATODAY: The Flame Trench space blog (1, 2)
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Persian Letters (1, 2)
voiceofsandiego.org: Building a Community around Education Coverage (1, 2)

Online Topical Reporting/Blogging, Medium Site
CBC News: Inside Politics Blog (1, 2)
Mother Jones: Team Coverage of BP Oil Spill (1, 2)

Online Topical Reporting/Blogging, Large Site
AOL News: Haiti, Life After Death (1, 2)
CNN.com: Technology (1, 2)
CNN.com: Afghanistan Crossroads (1, 2)

Online Commentary/Blogging, Small Site
Caring.com: Dad Has Dementia (1, 2)
Forward.com: The Sisterhood
Truthdig: Chris Hedges (1, 2)

Online Commentary/Blogging, Medium Site
Salon.com: Glenn Greenwald (1, 2)
Mother Jones: Kevin Drum (1, 2)

Online Commentary/Blogging, Large Site
ESPN.com: Howard Bryant (1, 2)
Politics Daily: Jill Lawrence (1, 2)
The Los Angeles Times: Christopher Knight, Culture Monster (1, 2)

Outstanding Use of Digital Technologies, Professional
CNN.com: Home and Away: U.S. & Coalition Causalities
The Las Vegas Sun and Greenspun Media Group: Bottoming Out
The New York Times: Oil Spill Tracker
The Texas Tribune Data Apps

Outstanding Use of Digital Technologies, Student
No award given

Outstanding Use of Emerging Platforms
NPR.ORG Mobile Applications
USATODAY for iPad

Online Video Journalism, Small Site
Huffington Post Investigative Fund: Tapped Out: How an Unpaid Water Bill Cost a Baltimore Woman Her Home
MediaStorm: Take Care
Minnesota Public Radio News: Explaining Instant Run-off Voting
Yale Environment 360: Leveling Appalachia: The Legacy of Mountaintop Removal Mining

Online Video Journalism, Medium Site
The Las Vegas Sun and the Greenspun Media Group: Bottoming Out (1)
Knoxville News Sentinel / knoxnews.com: Death on Chipman Street
The Dallas Morning News: Choosing Thomas

Online Video Journalism, Large Site
NPR: Krulwich on Science (1, 2)
NPR and ProPublica: Traumatic Brain Injury – The Battle For Care
TIME.com: Sudan Stories
The Toronto Star: William and the Windmill
The Washington Post: Scene In Video Series (1, 2)

Online Video Journalism, Student
S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University: The Fall Workshop (1, 2)
Knight Center for International Media, School of Communication, University of Miami: My Story, My Goal

Community Collaboration
CBC News: G20: Street Level
CNN.com: Haiti: The Missing, The Found, The Victims
The Los Angeles Times: Westside Debate
West Seattle Blog: West Seattle’s only 24/7 news source

The judges of this year’s awards were:

• Shazna Nessa, Director, Interactive and Graphics, Associated Press
• Chrys Wu, User Engagement Strategist, Matchstrike LLC
• Gary Kebbel, Dean, College of Journalism and Mass Communications University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Michelle Nicolosi, Executive Producer, SeattlePI.com
• Brian Storm, Founder & Executive Producer, MediaStorm
• Matt Thompson, Editorial Product Manager, Project Argo / National Public Radio
• David Plotz, Editor, Slate
• Wendy Warren, Vice President and Editor, Philly.com
• Lisa Williams, CEO and founder, Placeblogger.com
• Rich Jaroslovsky, columnist, Bloomberg News
• Rich Beckman, Professor, John S. and James L. Knight Chair in Visual Journalism, University of Miami School of Communication; Online Journalism Awards academic partner
• Christine Montgomery, Managing Editor, PBS.org; President, Online News Association
• Katie King, Senior Product Manager, Portal & Partnerships, Microsoft/MSN UK, ONA Board Member
• Mario Tedeschini, Chief of Internet Publishing R&D, Gruppo Espresso
• Angela Pimenta, Editor and Brasilia Bureay Chief, Editora Abril
• Kirk Lapointe, Managing Editor, Vancouver Sun
• Kathryn Corrick, Digitial Media Consultant
• Eric Scherer, Director of Strategy and External Relations, Agence France-Presse
• Jose Zamora, Journalism Associate, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Judges were recused from discussing categories in which their own organization or organizations they are associated with were entered.

OJA judging is accomplished in partnership with the University of Miami’s School of Communication, which utilized its state-of-the-art resources to facilitate the judging process. Under Rich Beckman’s direction, the school will highlight the work of winners during the awards presentation and continue to share best practices throughout the industry.

Launched in May 2000, the OJAs are administered by the Online News Association, in partnership with the University of Miami's School of Communication. This year's honorees will be announced on Oct. 30, the final night of the Online News Association Conference and Awards Banquet, held Oct.28-30 in Washington, DC.

The Online News Association is the world's largest association of online journalists. ONA's mission is to inspire innovation and excellence among journalists to better serve the public. The membership includes news writers, producers, designers, editors, bloggers, technologists, photographers and others who produce news for the Internet or other digital delivery systems, as well as academic members and others interested in the development of online journalism.

The University of Miami School of Communication prepares analytical and responsible communication professionals for success in a global society. The School offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in journalism, broadcasting, advertising, public relations, visual journalism, communication studies and motion pictures. The School's state of the art, all-digital facilities and resources are among the most advanced in the country. Approximately 1,500 students are enrolled.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes journalism excellence worldwide and invests in the vitality of the U.S. communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Since 1950 the foundation has granted more than $400 million to advance journalism quality and freedom of expression. Knight Foundation focuses on ideas and projects that create transformational change.

The Gannett Foundation is a corporate foundation sponsored by Gannett Co., Inc. whose mission is to invest in the future of the communities in which Gannett does business, and in the future of our industry. It supports projects that take a creative approach to fundamental issues such as education and neighborhood improvement, economic development, youth development, community problem-solving, assistance to disadvantaged people, environmental conservation and cultural enrichment.