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Entries for the 2011 Online Journalism Awards (OJAs), emblematic of the best in digital journalism, are now open.
Why should I 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. “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.” 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.
Who should enter? 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. 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.
Who are past winners? OJA winners range from major media companies to small nonprofits to technology firms working for and with digital media. Honored last year was included CNN.com, NPR, SA LA NACION, West Seattle Blog, the New York Times, the Texas Tribune, Salon.com, the National Film Board of Canada and Pro Publica. For the complete list of 2010 winners, visit journalists.org.
What are the categories? Review all 13 categories here.
Who is eligible? The 2011 OJAs are open to work published between July 1, 2010, and June 15, 2011. See Rules and Eligibility for details.
Where do I enter? Applicants are invited to submit their work at journalists.org until Monday, June 27, 2011, at 11:59 p.m. ET
How does judging work? 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. A list of 2011 judges will be released in June.
When will winners be announced? 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. We hope you’ll be one of them.
