NEAPNEA Web Site Contest
2004 Winners
Under 40k
Best Overall Site
The Telegraph, Nashua, N.H.
Judges' comments:
The site has a clean layout, with an important focus on local news and sports and an interactive use of photo galleries. An events calendar is prominently displayed at the top of the page, as is the site search function.
Engagement
The Telegraph
Judges' comments:
The Reader Advisory Network looks to engage customers and receive input on issues impacting the community.
News Presentation
The Times Record, Brunswick, Maine
Judges' comments:
The site displays news through headlines and abstracts, but also attempts to engage a different audience with its teen writers feature and daily poll.
Sports Presentation
Foster's Daily Democrat, Dover, N.H.
Judges' comments:
The site displays news through headlines and abstracts, but also attempts to engage a different audience with its teen writers feature and daily poll.
Public Service
Foster's Daily Democrat
Judges' comments:
N..H. Presidential Primary Guide. The report is well organized and contains a wealth of information, including candidate profiles, archive of issue articles and town-by-town results. The Primary History log is a great snapshot of the past.
Special Section
Foster's Daily Democrat
Judges' comments:
Although entered in another category, the judge's felt this entry fit the criteria of the special section entry the best. We moved it here to recognize the Òinnovation, engagement and interactivityÓ of a Òsingle topic É with a limited lifespan.Ó In a society struggling with its weight, we're sure the weblogs written by the contestants is a must read for many.
Entertainment Section
Foster's Daily Democrat
Judges' comments:
A rich offering of listings, including nitelife, calendar and movies. The Weekend Word is engaging.
Over 40k
Best Overall Site
The Providence Journal
Judges' comments:
Projo.com has more site-wide uses of databases, multimedia and other Web-original content. That's why Projo.com wins this category. The Projo.com staff has obviously made a deep commitment to maximizing the unique attributes of the Web. A good example is its outstanding Web coverage of the horrific Station Fire. That online section offered immediacy, interactivity and a comprehensive multimedia package. Consider this the "Online Pulitzer" that the project so richly deserves.
The Providence Journal
Judges' comments:
This is a very difficult category, because it involves content provided in some cases by readers. Most news sites offer an array of fairly typical reader-engagement options, such as forums, polls and contests. Few of the entries in this category, however, qualify as creative or innovative.
The Hartford Courant went a step beyond simple forum comments and encouraged Connecticut college basketball fans to submit short, bylined opinion pieces about the Huskies mens and womens teams. But the winner is Projo.com for its "Tribute to our Troops" interactive feature. The Tribute site allows users to create a Web page for a person or troop by filling in a simple form. There were more than
5,000 troops and 64,000 messages posted on the site. This feature clearly serves its intended purpose - encouraging user involvement - but
also (perhaps uncomfortably) helps stretch the boundaries of traditional journalism by giving readers a self-publishing tool.
The Boston Globe
Judges' comments:
The definition for this category is very similar to the definition of the overall site category. As stated in that category, Projo.com does a terrific job of using the tools unique to the Web to enhance news coverage. One key difference in this category is the public's recognition of a site's status as "the place to go for what's going on" locally, regionally and globally. Boston.com deserves that recognition and therefore wins this category. The site is presented well. It is attractive, well-organized and easy to navigate.
Portland (Maine) Press Herald
Judges' comments:
Sports fans are passionate, and building dynamic, interactive sports pages with Web-original content is an easy method of dramatically increasing traffic to your news site. The entries in this category, however, almost all rely on simply repurposing print content - and that's disappointing.
Boston.com has a generic sports blog, a Bruins blog, an e-mail newsletter and a few other interactive elements. And it has a significant partnership with a sports channel. But the winner in this category is MaineToday.com, which takes advantage of the strengths of the Web to provide content that enhances its print edition.
The high school sports scores and schedules database is a very popular Web feature that can't be duplicated in print. The Red Sox blogger understands that baseball fans want "one-stop shopping" for their baseball news, so he provides links to other publications. The Web page on running provides links to resources in the community. All of the sites in this category need more Web-original content. MaineToday.com seems to be taking steps in the right direction.
The Providence Journal
Judges' comments:
Projo.com wins this category for its breaking and ongoing news updates on the fatal fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island. This news organization has made an outstanding commitment to covering this horrifying story from every possible angle. And it makes perfect use of the strengths of the Web, to provide video, interactivity, immediacy, and complete archives of public records.
The Boston Globe
Judges' comments:
CapeCod online and Projo.com had very strong entries in this category, but the winner is Boston.com for its thorough coverage of the church sex scandal. The section is full of interactive and web-only elements, including a video documentary, an interactive map, an archive of documents and depositions. It's a complete and compelling piece of work. It is the single best piece of work submitted in all of the categories in this contest.
The Providence Journal
Judges' comments:
udge's comments: Most of the news organizations in this category do a good job of repurposing print content into a useable format online. Boston.com does an excellent job of presenting that print content online. But the winner in this category - Projo.com - goes the extra step of incorporating web-original features, such as music and art pages where local musicians and artists can upload their work, calendars, slideshows and weblogs.
The Web site awards will be presented May 11, during the spring NEAPNEA conference at The Providence Journal.