Online Journalism Awards

The Online Journalism Awards (OJAs), launched in May 2000 to honor excellence in digital journalism around the world, are administered by the Online News Association in partnership with the University of Miami School of Communication.

Submit

Submit your work for the 2013 Online Journalism Awards. The deadline for submissions is June 28, 2013 at 11:59 p.m ET.

Members: Click below to log in, then submit an entry. Non-members: click below to submit an entry.

Application

Before you enter, here’s what you’ll need:

Entry Category

  • Entry Title
  • Full Name of Organization
  • Publication Date
  • URLs of the Entry
  • Screenshot of the Entry (jpg, pdf, png)
  • Username and Password (if site is protected)
  • Entry Size and Description (up to 200 words explaining why your entry belongs in this size category)
  • Brief Description and Background (up to 350 words, or 100 words for student category)
  • General Excellence Description (General Excellence category only; in up to 1,000 words, list and explain three examples of innovation, three examples of creative use of online technology, and how social tools were used to reach audience)
  • Award Inscription (up to 100 characters)
  • Contact Information

Entry Fees & Categories

ONA members: $100/category
Non-members: $175/category
Student members: $15/category
Student non-members: $50/category

See a list of categories and descriptions.

Rules & Eligibility

The Online Journalism Awards are open to websites, areas of websites and all digital platforms, including smart phones, e-readers and tablets, where journalists have originated the content or selected and amplified it. Search services, portal sites and wire services may submit content they created that fits the eligibility requirements. Individuals and organizations may enter the contest. Online retailers and advertising sites are not eligible.

The awards are open to work published between June 16, 2012, and June 15, 2013. Entries must be available online for one year from date of submission.

See a full list of rules and eligibility requirements.

About

Lynnette Clemetson of National Public Radio accepts the Gannett Foundation Award for Innovative Investigative Journalism, Small Site, on behalf of StateImpact Florida (a project of NPR and Florida Public Media) and the Miami Herald, at the 2012 OJAs Banquet. Photo by Jill Knight.

Over the past decade, the OJAs have recognized major media, international and independent sites and individuals producing innovative work in multimedia storytelling. The OJA Committee and judges place special emphasis on entries that demonstrate mastery of the special characteristics and emerging technology of digital journalism.

The finalists and the winners are selected through a two-step process. A group of 24 industry-leading journalists and new media professionals team up in pairs of two to rank finalists in each category. In September, 12 of those judges meet to select winners.

Nine of the 29 awards come with a total of $37,500 in prize money, courtesy of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Gannett Foundation, including a new $5,000 award honoring the best in Watchdog Journalism.

The OJAs are traditionally awarded on the final night of the Online News Association Conference & Awards Banquet, which will be Oct. 19, 2013, at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.

Questions?

You can email awards@journalists.org and we’ll do our best to help.