Digital Edge awards

Posted on February 8, 2007 by Melissa Worden

After the NAA’s Digital Edge Award winners announcement, I was hoping they would release comments about the winners. A list is nice, but why they won is what’s important.

Specifically, I was confused about the Most Innovative Storytelling category. For example, “Studio 55 Vodcast, Naples Daily News,” — self-explanatory. But “ChicagoTribune.com, Tribune Interactive” — not so much.

This speech helps.

ChicagoTribune.com’s entry in this category included “A Tank of Gas, A World of Trouble,” which brought users on an oil safari with video and other multimedia elements. Twelve staff members worked on the project over several months. Their entry also included a series on a death penalty case in Texas that has resulted in calls for a death penalty moratorium there.

Oh, OK.

I still want more, though. Even for the obvious choices, such as Studio 55, I’d like to learn what specifically the judges cited as exemplary journalism. This helps all of us grow, which should be a major reason for even having the awards.