2006 NEAPNEA WEB CONTEST
Results for Web sites in circulation
classes above and below 40,000. Judges' comments
included.
Under 40k
Overall Site
Seacoastonline.com
"Multimedia plays a large role in the content on this site. Audio,
original video, photographer galleries are a great extension online. The
Multimedia Gallery collects the best of what's new and compelling about the
online news media. The site presents a wide variety of community tools to
involve its users in the news gathering process on the SeaCoastConnects
area which features blogs, chats, photos and
calendar. The design is different from a traditional newspaper site and lets
the content and function of the site dictate the look
and feel more than the legacy print partners."
---
Engagement
SentinelSource.com
"
http://forms.keenesentinel.com/budget07/
The Keene (NH) Sentinel
"Very creative way to
involve readers and on an especially dry subject. Links
to the reader comments and an explanation of how to balance a budget round out
the package. Nice package, presentation and execution."
---
News Presentation
theday.com
The Day,
"Breaking News element at the top of
the page shows a commitment to updating, blogs, polls and interactive solicitations for reader comments,
as well as condolences for Steve Irwin were nice ways to localize a national
story. Showed deep coverage with focus on local, regional
categories."
---
Sports Section
Rutlandherald.com
Timesargus.com
http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=sports
http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=sports
The Times Argus,
"The high school area is the strength of this section with
updated game stories, recent photo galleries and a wide scope for coverage. Would like to have seen that good strong local coverage elevated
more on the front of the index at the expense of the national wire stories.
The section across the board was devoted to local coverage and delivered on
that promise."
---
Public Service
nashuatelegraph.com
Child Care series
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=news0504
Fair share property tax series
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=news0502
The Telegraph,
"The section brings home
a wealth of information in such a way that the reader's can easily and directly
benefit from the content. The recent sales and valuation databases were user friendly, the "How to
---
Special Section
theday.com
Embedded with the Marines in
http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=ab7e2a98-5435-462f-9fd0-542a878e2121
The Day,
"Great photos,
and nice use of pullquotes to highlight dramatic soundbites from the Marines interviewed. Wonderful
insight into the life of these men from their blogs
in such entries as the "Dear John" letters and "close calls". Audio was
rough and raw which was perfect for this usage. The clip from the mourning
mother was very effective. The index could have been dressed up more but with
all this great content it's hard to go wrong."
---
Entertainment Section
Seacoastonline.com
http://www.seacoastconnects.com
"A site that highlights user-generated content front and center, does
not look like a newspaper, engaging layout, forums show recent posts, main
story had added content and video, photo galleries were in-depth, community
calendar was well populated and it had an impressive slate of bloggers. Wire content was used in support role, not the
main focus of the index. There are many reasons for users to return to this site."
---
Over 40k
Overall Site
Boston.com
http://www.boston.com/news/specials/
http://www.boston.com/news/blogs/
http://mobile.boston.com/wireless/signup.cfm?sid=62
The
"Not just the best newspaper website
in
---
Engagement
capecodonline.com
http://www.capecodonline.com/special/rightwhales/
"Giants in the Balance: The Race to Save the
Cape Cod (
"A beautifully presented three-part
series, loaded with animated graphics, beautiful video, quizzes, related
resources ... even whale wallpaper. The audience is visually drawn into an
important topic, then invited to stay and browse through various parts of the
story telling. A compelling online package."
---
News Presentation
Boston.com
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/02/26/26rakanart/
http://www.boston.com/news/specials/
The
"While all entrants provided strong, updated news coverage, none could
match the completeness of Boston.com's news
presentation. The site's special news packages showed tremendous skill and
effort from the production staff. The sophisticated use of Flash, still
photography, multimedia and interactive features was
most compelling. And the news was fresh and easy to find. Having the resources
of The Globe doesn't hurt either."
---
Sports Section
boston.com
http://www.boston.com/sports
The
"Knowing who their audience is, many
sites spend a lot of time and effort on their local sports presentations,
particularly local prep and college sports. And they do a great job at it.
Boston.com knows that it has a huge sports audience as well, and it treats
those users to a remarkable smorgasbord of information, opinion and
interactivity. The city of
---
Public Service
Projo.com
"Midlives"
http://www.projo.com/extra/2006/midlives/
The
"This five-part interactive series
captures Rhode Islanders at midlife -- coping with change in various ways. A
newspaper based project, it comes alive online, inviting the web audience to
participate in the discussion and decisions that 40- and 50-somethings have to
make. Whether it's trying new adventures, keeping love alive in long
relationships, or dealing with aging, health issues and dying, the issues are
substantial. This project lets the audience in on very personal matters and
encourages them to participate fully."
---
Special Section
Projo.com
"The
Unrighteous Traffick:
http://www.projo.com/extra/2006/slavery/
The
"This is another of Projo.com's gorgeous and moving multimedia presentations on
issues of local importance. This series, which focuses on the small state's
outsized role in the early American slave trade is part history, part current
events with its strong ties to still-prominent families in the state, most
notably the Browns (founders of of Brown University.)
The content is compelling, and the production values are superb with original
music and photo treatment worthy of Ken Burns. It is hard to stop watching."
---
Entertainment Section
courant.com
http://www.ctnow.com
The
"Hartford may not be the hottest
entertainment town in the country, but judging from CTNow.com, it's a lot
closer than many might think. This is a complete, easy to use and well thought
out entertainment site. It appeals to users of all ages, featuring a heavy dose
of restaurant reviews, club listings, museum information and movie picks. There
are easy to use ratings, "best of" features, concert calendars,
columnist and user blogs, multimedia and -- very
prominently -- a helpful feature labeled "What Can I Do Tonight?"
My guess is that if something is happening in and around