New Frontier Awards


Got some great news on Tuesday. From an Inland Press Association news release:

Winners of second newspaper Web contest chosen
The Globe Gazette, News Sentinel receive best in circulation size

The Globe Gazette, Mason City, Iowa, and the Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel took first-place honors in their respective circulation divisions in the second New Frontier Awards sponsored by Inland Press Association.

The contest honors the best in newspaper online initiatives. It consists of seven categories that recognize newspapers’ achievement in producing and disseminating news content using online and new media platforms. Entries are judged on creativity and results, along with category-specific criteria. The contest is open to all Web sites run by U.S. newspapers.

The Globe Gazette (www.globegazette.com) won for papers with less than 20,000 circulation. Judges noted the ease-of-use of the Web site and its strong user engagement through multimedia. Placing second was the Rome (Ga.) News-Tribune (www.romenews-tribune.com). Taking third was the York (Neb.) News-Times (www.yorknewstimes.com).

The Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel (www.knoxnews.com) won for papers over 20,000 circulation. Judges noted its well-organized Web site packs a lot on the page without sacrificing accessibility. The Rapid City (S.D.) Journal (www.rapidcityjournal.com)
earned second place. Taking third was the Frederick (Md.) News-Post (www.fredericknewspost.com).

Judges were Michele Bitoun, Medill’s senior director of undergraduate education and teaching excellence; Janice Castro, senior director of graduate education and teaching excellence, Medill School of Journalism; Rich Gordon, director of digital media in education, Medill; Jon Marshall, Medill instructor and editor and publisher of SPJ’s News Gems blog (www.spj.org/gems); Mary Nesbitt, managing director of the Readership Institute and Medill associate dean for curriculum and professional excellence;  Nora Paul, director, Institute for New Media Studies, University of Minnesota; and Richard Roth, associate professor and senior associate dean, Medill.

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