WASHINGTON, Oct. 11, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Superlative reporting on leaked data, prison reform and undue police force led coverage that garnered top honors for 29 media organizations Saturday night at the
2017 Online Journalism Awards, which closed the
Online News Association Conference.
At the 17th annual awards dinner, emceed by host of WAMU and NPRs 1A Joshua Johnson,
Nexo Jornal,
Le Temps and
The Globe and Mail each took home a $3,000 General Excellence in Online Journalism award, courtesy of the Gannett Foundation. The $15,000 University of Florida Awards for Investigative Data Journalism were won by
The Intercept and
First Look Medias Trial and Terror and
The Globe and Mail for Unfounded.
The Knight Award for Public Service, with a $5,000 prize from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, went to
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for Doctors and Sex Abuse.
The Guardian US Mobile Innovation Lab won the $5,000 Gannett Foundation Award for Technical Innovation in the Service of Digital Journalism for its app, Live Notifications.
The Knoxville News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK - TENNESSEE and
The New York Times were recognized in the Breaking News categories.
Two new categories were added this year to honor evolving forms of journalism: Excellence in Audio Digital Storytelling, which recognizes exceptional efforts in telling stories through digitally-focused audio, including podcasts, audio-centric online works and other emerging media; and Excellence in Immersive Storytelling, which honors exceptional efforts in telling stories through digital, immersive media: virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, 360 video and other emerging media.
FRONTLINE and
The Emblematic Group shared the Excellence in Immersive Storytelling category for their bold, compelling presentation in After Solitary.
Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting,
KNBA and
AIR received the inaugural
Excellence in Audio Digital Storytelling awards.
ONA also named documentary photographer and freelance photojournalist
Tara Todras-Whitehill the recipient of the 2017 James Foley Award for Conflict Reporting for her unflinching coverage of vulnerable populations, particularly women and refugees, in the Middle East.
Jim Brady was honored with the 2017 Rich Jaroslovsky Founder Award for his longtime work in digital media, including innovations in social and community engagement.
Here are the winners in each category:
General Excellence in Online Journalism, Small Newsroom Nexo Jornal, nexojornal.com.br
General Excellence in Online Journalism, Medium Newsroom Le Temps, letemps.ch
General Excellence in Online Journalism, Large Newsroom The Globe and Mail, theglobeandmail.com
Knight Award for Public Service Doctors & Sex Abuse, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Breaking News, Medium Newsroom Gatlinburg Fire, The Knoxville News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK - TENNESSEE
Breaking News, Large Newsroom Orlando, The New York Times
Gannett Foundation Award for Technical Innovation in the Service of Digital Journalism Live Notifications, The Guardian US Mobile Innovation Lab
Planned News / Events, Small Newsroom CrossCheck France, First Draft
Planned News /Events, Medium Newsroom Election 2016, WBUR
Planned News / Events, Large Newsroom Electionland, ProPublica and the Electionland Coalition
Explanatory Reporting, Small Newsroom (tie) Middle East Lobbying: The Influence Game, Al-Monitor
Game of Genomes, STAT
Explanatory Reporting, Medium Newsroom Under Our Skin, The Seattle Times
Explanatory Reporting, Large Newsroom Weigh Anchor, The Globe and Mail
Topical Reporting, Small Newsroom Truckbeat, AIR:Finding America and WUOT
Topical Reporting, Medium Newsroom
Standing Rock and Beyond, Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting and Inside Energy
Topical Reporting, Large Newsroom Trump Charities, The Washington Post
Online Commentary Race/Related, The New York Times
Feature, Small Newsroom (tie) Dope Sick, STAT
AMERICA RELOADED: The Bizarre Story Behind the FBIs Fake Documentary About the Bundy Family, The Intercept / First Look Media
Feature, Medium Newsroom
My Four Months as a Private Prison Guard, Mother Jones
Feature, Large Newsroom The Fine Line, The New York Times
Sports, Small/Medium Newsroom
Berlin Marathon 2016 How Fast Your City Runs, Berliner Morgenpost
Sports, Large Newsroom Francesco Totti King of Rome, La Repubblica
The David Teeuwen Student Journalism Award, Small City of Smoke: Air Pollution in the Land of the Eternal Blue Sky, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
The David Teeuwen Student Journalism Award, Large Cuba's New Wave, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Media and Journalism
Pro-Am Student Award Turning Tides: The Story of the Salton Sea, USC/JOVRNALISM and The Desert Sun
The Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award, Small Newsroom Drinks, Dinners, Junkets and Jobs: How the Insurance Industry Courts State Commissioners, The Center for Public Integrity
The Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award, Medium Newsroom Toxic Armories, The Oregonian / OregonLive
The Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award, Large Newsroom Unfounded, The Globe and Mail
Excellence and Innovation in Visual Digital Storytelling, Small Newsroom Future Cities, Future Cities
Excellence and Innovation in Visual Digital Storytelling, Medium Newsroom Titletown, TX, McClatchy Video Lab
Excellence and Innovation in Visual Digital Storytelling, Large Newsroom Fragments of a Life: A Curbside Mystery, The New York Times
The University of Florida Award for Investigative Data Journalism, Small/Medium Newsroom Trial and Terror, The Intercept / First Look Media
The University of Florida Award for Investigative Data Journalism, Large Newsroom Unfounded, The Globe and Mail
Excellence in Audio Digital Storytelling, Small Newsroom
Frontier of Change, Independent / Producing Station: KNBA
Excellence in Audio Digital Storytelling, Large Newsroom
The Wall, Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting
Excellence in Immersive Storytelling
After Solitary, FRONTLINE and Emblematic Group
2017 Rich Jaroslovsky Founder Award Jim Brady, CEO, Spirited Media
2017 James Foley Award for Conflict Reporting Tara Todras-Whitehill, Freelance Photographer and Reporter
The awards ceremony, which was live-streamed directly from the Washington Marriott Wardman Park, will be available for viewing within 48 hours at
awards.journalists.org/live.
A group of 119 industry-leading journalists and new media professionals, led by ONA Board members and OJA co-chairs co-chair P. Kim Bui and David Smydra, teamed up to screen entrants and select finalists. Thirty judges, representing a diverse cross-section of the industry, then conferred to determine winners from independent, community, nonprofit, major media, start-up and international news sites.
Launched in 2000, the OJAs are administered by ONA and are the only comprehensive set of journalism prizes honoring excellence in digital journalism, focusing on independent, community, nonprofit, major media and international news sites.
About ONA The Online News Association is the worlds largest association of online journalists. ONAs 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, academics, students and others who produce and distribute news for digital delivery systems. ONA also hosts the annual Online News Association annual conference and administers the Online Journalism Awards.
About Knight Foundation The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. The foundation believes that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit knightfoundation.org
About the Gannett Foundation 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.
About the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications is driving innovation and engagement across the disciplines of advertising, journalism, public relations and telecommunication. The strength of its programs, faculty, students and alumni in research and in practice has earned the college ongoing recognition as one of the best in the nation among its peers. The college offers bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees and certificates, both online and on campus. The colleges strength is drawn from both academic rigor and experiential learning. CJC students have the opportunity to gain practical experience in the Innovation News Center, which generates content across multiple platforms, and a strategic communication agency with expertise in targeting messages to millennial audiences. The college includes seven broadcast and digital media properties and the nations only chair in public interest communications.
About Journalism 360
Journalism 360 is a global network of storytellers accelerating the understanding and production of immersive journalism. Our mission is to help news organizations, journalists, technologists, content creators and journalism educators experiment with all forms of immersive storytelling, including but not limited to 360 video, augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality. Its founding partners are the Knight Foundation, Google News Lab and the Online News Association.
For more information, contact: The Online News Association at awards@journalists.org.