Online Journalism Award Winners Announced

Congratulations to the winners of the 2009 Online Journalism Awards, announced yesterday.

Launched in May 2000, the OJAs are administered by the Online News Association.

Among the many categories of awards are "video journalism" and "multimedia presentations."

Here are those winners, with judges' comments and links to the entries (some of which have been previously showcased on KobreGuide).

Multimedia Feature Presentation, Small Site

National Film Board of Canada, Waterlife

Gorgeous. Crazy good. Stunning. User experience is unlike anything we've seen. They threw in, in an organized way, the kitchen sink on this project and succeeded in presenting an innovative and informative look at the issue of water. There is multi-dimensional, multiple media story-telling going on here. Heads and tails above the rest.

Multimedia Feature Presentation, Medium Site

LasVegasSun.com, Quenching Las Vegas' Thirst
(ALSO: On KobreGuide)

There's an awesome coordination between map points, graphics and video. That's innovation. They built a heat map of residential water use that's remarkable. Las Vegas put it all together.

Multimedia Feature Presentation, Large Site

Washington Post Digital, Sacred Ground: The Building of the Pentagon Memorial

Once you start exploring, it's a great piece. It has depth because it lets you explore not only the site, but how it was planned, how it was built via interviews with the architects and a 3D walkthrough. It works very well at different levels. Excellent use of the technologies and the tools.

Online Video Journalism, Small Site

Danny Wilcox Frazier, Produced by MediaStorm, Driftless: Stories from Iowa
(ALSO: On KobreGuide)

This is a stark, black-and-white tale of an Iowa family of farmers. It feels extremely original, the camera work seems expert and the interviews will break your heart while never lingering on any one expression or sentiment. There's a richness, restraint and even a little dark humor here that was nowhere in any of the other videos.

Online Video Journalism, Large Site

Slate V, The Power Recap

Very funny expression of presidential campaign highlights, built entirely on selection of key moments in stills and video and then blending them in a frenetic editing style that works to create the "viral video" formula. It is an interesting commentary experiment offering the kind of analysis that cannot ordinarily be found in straight journalistic reporting by newspapers. (SEE BELOW!)

*****

Kudos to the Online Journalism Awards finalists, including:

Online Video Journalism, Small Site

* AARP Bulletin Today, Journey to Remember

* AARP Bulletin Today, What Will Happen to Andy?

* Hank Wilson, No Snitching, No Suspects

Online Video Journalism, Large Site

* ESPN.com, You Tube Baby
(ALSO: On KobreGuide)

* Washington Post Digital, Fashion Week in New York City

* Washington Post Digital, Seeds of Peace
(ALSO: On KobreGuide)

Multimedia Feature Presentation, Small Site

* Ottawa Citizen, The Karsh Generation

* Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Women.Children.Crisis.

Multimedia Feature Presentation, Medium Site

* The Courier-Journal/courier-journal.com, Tragedy on the Track

* The Oregonian/OregonLive.com, Pregnant with Cancer

* Lane DeGregory, Melissa Lyttle, Desiree Perry, Jack Rowland & Ted McLaren, Tampabay.com, The Girl in the Window
(ALSO: On KobreGuide)

Multimedia Feature Presentation, Large Site

* The Boston Globe/Boston.com, Ted Kennedy

* Los Angeles Times, Mexico Under Siege: The Drug War at Our Doorstep

*****

Full list of finalists in all categories here.

Full list of winners in all categories here.

And for those patient enough to scroll all the way through these, here is a sampler of Slate V's winning entry, The Power Recap (Online Video Journalism, Large Site). It's only one of a series of six remarkably funny and clever high-speed glimpses of last year's Presidential race, so be sure to check out the others -- along with all the OJA finalsts and winners.