Guardian, Boston Globe, AxisPhilly, Texas Tribune take home 2013 Online Journalism Awards

By on October 19, 2013

ATLANTA — Coverage of the the Boston Marathon bombings, national security and international elections by news organizations large and small took top honors Saturday night at the 2013 Online Journalism Awards Banquet, which ended the Online News Association Conference.

At the 14th annual awards dinner, The Guardian won both the Gannett Foundation Award for Investigative Journalism and the Watchdog Journalism Award for digging into leaked National Security Administration files.

Coverage of disasters dominated the Breaking News categories, with the Boston University News Service and Boston.com/ Boston Globe winning for its continuing reporting on the city’s marathon bombing and WNYC for coverage of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy.

Each winner of the three General Excellence Awards — AxisPhilly, The New York Times and The Texas Tribune — took home a $3,000 prize, courtesy of the Gannett Foundation. The Knight Award for Public Service, with a $5,000 prize from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, went to the Boston Globe for “68 Blocks,” a series on a year in the city’s Bowdoin-Geneva neighborhood, The New York Times won the Technical Innovation in the Service of Digital Journalism Award for its JavaScript library for data documents, D3.js.

Launched in 2000, the OJAs are administered by the Online News Association, in partnership with the University of Miami’s School of Communication, 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.

Here are the winners in each category, with links to their winning entries:

Knight Award for Public Service
68 Blocks, The Boston Globe

General Excellence in Online Journalism, Small
AxisPhilly

General Excellence in Online Journalism, Medium
The Texas Tribune

General Excellence in Online Journalism, Large
The New York Times

Gannett Foundation Award for Technical Innovation in the Service of Digital Journalism
D3.js, The New York Times

Breaking News, Small
Triumph, Then Tragedy: The Boston Marathon Bombings, Boston University News Service

Breaking News, Medium
Superstorm Sandy, WNYC

Breaking News, Large
Boston Marathon Bombing, Boston.com and BostonGlobe.com

Planned News/Events, Small
Iran Election Watch

Planned News/Events, Medium
2012 Election Coverage, ProPublica

Planned News/Events, Large
The Re-Election of Barack Obama, NPR

Explanatory Reporting, Small (tie)
Ala Wai Canal: Hawaii’s Biggest Mistake?, Honolulu Civil Beat
Coal in the Northwest, EarthFix

Explanatory Reporting, Medium
America Under the Gun: A Special Report on Gun Laws and the Rise of Mass Shootings, Mother Jones

Explanatory Reporting, Large
Beyond 7 Billion, Los Angeles Times

Topical Reporting, Small
Nieman Journalism Lab

Topical Reporting, Medium
Returning Home to Battle, The Center for Investigative Reporting

Topical Reporting, Large
Life in the Hermit Kingdom: Bringing North Korea to the World, Associated Press

Online Commentary, Small
The Fight to Vote, BillMoyers.com

Online Commentary, Medium
Stuff Nation, Fairfax Media New Zealand

Online Commentary, Large
Ezra Klein, The Washington Post

Feature, Small
#Banlieuelanuit, Radio-Canada

Feature, Medium
Black Gold Boom, Todd Melby, AIR, Prairie Public, Zeega

Feature, Large
Snow Fall, The New York Times

Student Projects, Small
The Pulse of Oakland, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism

Student Projects, Large
Triumph, Then Tragedy: The Boston Marathon Bombings, Boston University News Service

Gannett Foundation Award for Innovative Investigative Journalism, Small
In The Name Of The Law, Honolulu Civil Beat

Gannett Foundation Award for Innovative Investigative Journalism, Medium
Big Money 2012, FRONTLINE, American Public Media’s Marketplace, ProPublica

Gannett Foundation Award for Innovative Investigative Journalism, Large
The NSA Files, The Guardian

Gannett Foundation Award for Watchdog Journalism
The NSA Files, The Guardian

About ONA
The Online News Association is the world’s largest association of digital 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, developers, photographers, educators, students and others who produce news for and support digital delivery systems. ONA also hosts the annual Online News Association conference and administers the Online Journalism Awards.

About the University of Miami School of Communication
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.

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Jennifer Mizgata

Jennifer Mizgata is Director of Programs at the Online News Association, where she leads the Women's Leadership Accelerator. At ONA, Jennifer focuses on identifying talented digital journalists and innovative journalism projects and providing them with support. Jennifer is a business and design strategist with over a decade of experience creating industry-changing training programs, investing in award-winning projects, and managing key relationships with journalism partners and tech stakeholders. She regularly coaches managers, senior leaders and entrepreneurs on challenges related to their careers and launching new ventures. Jennifer shares advice for navigating tough work challenges in Work Space, a monthly column for Fortune.