I just read in the Spokesman-Review that our Spokane newspaper's web site won the 2005 Online Journalism award for general excellence among medium-sized sites. One of the staff members accepted the award, which is considered "a Pulitzer of online journalism," in New York last night. Apparently, there were 600 entries worldwide in the contest as a whole.
This is pretty neat for a couple of reasons. Spokesman.com beat out PBS' "Frontline," New York's "Newsday," and Chicago's " CBS 2."
Secondly, and of particular note to me and my fellow bloggers, the online blog "News Is a Conversation," along with the "Ask the Editors" and "Daily Briefing" blogs were highlighted as the major reasons for this recognition. Each of these Spokesman features strives to bring readers into closer touch with the newspaper staff as decisions for daily coverage are analyzed.
As a participant in "News Is a Conversation" with seven other bloggers, I'm ecstatic, to say the least. This past Thursday, I had the opportunity to meet one of the online editors, Ken Paulman. He invited me to sit in on the Spokesman's afternoon editorial staff meeting. It was fun to learn how the editors lobby for and make decisions on front-page art and stories. I also enjoyed matching a few faces with the names I see in the paper.
Anyway, I've enjoyed participating in the blog for the past several months and commenting on news coverage a few times each week. To learn this morning that we've contributed to such a prestigious award-winning effort makes it all the more fun.
Plus, it gives me all the more reason to BLOG ON!
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