Entries Open for the 2011 Online Journalism Awards

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - May 19, 2011) - The Online News Association, the world's largest membership organization of digital journalists, and the University of Miami's School of Communication today opened the call for entries for the 2011 Online Journalism Awards (OJAs), emblematic of the best in online journalism.

This year, ONA introduced changes to acknowledge the explosion of journalistic innovation on new digital platforms. Entries for all awards now are open to news produced for any digital device. Eight awards come with a total of $33,000 in prize money, courtesy of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Gannett Foundation, which also is supporting innovative investigative work with two $2,500 awards.

"The OJAs honor innovative reporting across the digital spectrum -- if you are producing top-flight journalism, regardless of your audience or format, these are your awards," said Awards Chair Anthony Moor, Lead Local Editor, Yahoo!. "We're especially encouraging strong entries from outstanding community publications, political and cultural blog efforts, and stunning digital work by magazines and television."

Categories, segmented by size, recognize the breadth of journalistic styles, from crowd-sourcing community publications and blog commentary to online video reporting or technical innovation by non-journalists. First-time entrants, including micro publishers who serve small audiences, are encouraged to submit their work. Sole practitioners and ONA members pay a reduced fee to enter.

The OJAs are the only comprehensive set of journalism prizes honoring excellence in digital journalism, administered by ONA and its academic partner, the University of Miami's School of Communication. Following tradition, this year's honorees will be announced on the final night of ONA11, the Online News Association Conference and Awards Banquet, Sept. 22-24, at the Marriott Copley Place in Boston.

The 2011 OJAs are open to work published between July 1, 2010, and June 15, 2011. Applicants are invited to submit their work at journalistawards.org until June 27, 2011, at 11:59 p.m. ET, in one or more of the following categories:

The Knight Award for Public Service: Recognizes digital journalism that performs a public service for a geographic community through compelling coverage of a vital community issue or event. This $5,000 award is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

General Excellence in Online Journalism: Honors an entry in each of four size categories, plus two from the non-English speaking community, which successfully fulfills its editorial mission, effectively serves its audience, maximizes the use of digital characteristics and represents the highest journalistic standards. The award is $3,000 for each winner, funded by the Gannett Foundation.

The Gannett Foundation Award for Technical Innovation in the Service of Digital Journalism: Honors a person or company, journalistic in focus or not, that has built a digital tool significantly enhancing the practice of online journalism; one $5,000 prize.

Breaking News: Honors digital coverage throughout a 72-hour period of an unplanned breaking-news event or development.

Specialty Site Journalism: Recognizes niche digital news operations that focus on a single topic.

Gannett Foundation Award for Innovative Investigative Journalism: Honors stories that uncover major news based on reporters' own exclusive investigations or that offer compelling and original analysis and interpretation. Open to all formats, including web documentaries; two awards of $2,500 each.

Multimedia Feature Presentation: Awards excellence in telling a story to an online audience using multimedia techniques, including interactive graphics, Flash, photography, audio and video.

Online Topical Reporting/Blogging: Recognizes beat reporting by an individual or team.

Online Commentary/Blogging: Honors a unique and powerful voice of commentary original to the web.

Outstanding Informational Graphic or Data Visualization: Honors achievement by a site in the use of digital technologies to tell a story and serve a community.

Online Video Journalism: Awards excellence in online-originated video journalism.

Community Collaboration: Recognizes a news project publication that produces outstanding journalism through strong interaction with the community being served.

The finalists and the winners will be selected through a new two-step process. A group of 24 industry-leading journalists and new media professionals team up in pairs to rank finalists in each category. In August, twelve of those judges will meet to select winners at the University of Miami under the auspices of the School of Communication.

Enter at journalistawards.org. For the complete list of 2010 winners, visit here.

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.