@ONA09: Startups Publish2, ProPublica, Muckety, Daily Beast And MyBallard Win OJA Awards

Hi Michael Chima --
At the Online Journalism Awards banquet on Saturday, Publish2 had the honor of receiving the first Gannett Foundation Award for Technical Innovation in the Service of Digital Journalism.

Above all, this award belongs to the journalists and news organizations who have used the Publish2 platform to boldly expand the practice of journalism on the Web. You are the real innovators. We at Publish2 salute you, and we thank the Gannett Foundation for creating this award to highlight technical innovation, which is so essential for journalism to survive and thrive in the digital age.
Be sure to read more about other startups that were recognized for their achievements.

We're following up Saturday's big win with three updates to Publish2:

* Visit the expanded Publish2 Journalist Directory to search for your peers and colleagues by name, news organization, or their beat. Kickstart collaboration, find friends, and identify mentors.

* Highlight text on any Web page and open your Publish2 bookmarklet to see another improvement: That text automatically populates the brand new "Quote" field in the bookmarklet, so you can save an excerpt from the page you're linking to along with your comment about it. Saved quotes are available in all javascript widgets from Publish2.com.

* Upgrade your Publish2 WordPress plugin to the latest version to take advantage of the latest advances to Link Assist.

Take a look at how journalists have used Publish2 to bring the best of the Web to their readers and follow us on Twitter to find out about new features and announcements first.

Thanks for making Publish2 the Web's largest newsroom,

Ryan Sholin
Director of News Innovation
Publish2

The Online Journalism Awards have been fairly good at recognizing the work of some smaller or new sites over the years but the results announced at the crowded awards dinner at the San Francisco Hilton this weekend had a different aura. Yes, the New York Times won a couple, including general excellence for a large site, and so did BBC News (breaking news, large site); LATimes.com for its Hero Complex blog, (commentary/blogging, large site); Washington Post Digital (multimedia feature, large site); NPR.org’s Planet Money (topical reporting, large site) and Slate V (video, large site). But the rest were spread among a fascinating mix that showed good work is being done by startups and established sites with various levels of resources and goals. It wasn’t an accident: this year’s awards included new categories and new ways to recognize sites to expand the reach and the impact. The full list is here. Some examples below:
—Publish2, the collaborative tools startup founded by Scott Karp, won the inaugural Gannett (NYSE: GCI) Foundation Award for technical innovation in the service of digital journalism—and a $5,000 check to go with the acrylic trophy.
—Another new award for community collaboration went to Next Door Media for MyBallard, the first of its five hyperlocal sites. Next Door Media is run by journalists Kate and Cory Bergman. and recently announced a partnership with the Seattle Times. (Kate is working with Next Door Media full time while Cory, one of our friends from Lost Remote, is still at msnbc.com.)
—Hyperlocal Gotham Gazette won for general excellence, micro site, a new size for that category.
—Muckety,a site that looks at news through the prism of relationships and connections, was recognized for outstanding use of digital technologies, small site. NYTimes.com won the same category, large site, for its “super groundbreaking” interactive graphics.
—High-profile startups Pro Publica and The Daily Beast each won. The nonprofit investigative startup won for general excellence, medium site, recognized both for its own work and for helping other journalists. Just ending its first year, Tina Brown’s Daily Beast won for Christopher Buckley’s commentary and was a finalist for general excellence.
—Spanish site SOITU.ES won last year—its first in operation—for general excellence, non-English small site, and this year in the same category as a large site. The site blends original content and aggregated news/features with community engagement and tech tools. This year’s small site winner was Radio Azattyq, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Kazakh Service, which stood up to the Kazakh government over censorship attempts.
—The Chauncey Bailey Project, a two-year-old task force investigating the murder of the Bay Area journalist, led to the indictment of two men and the resignation of the Oakland chief of police. It won the Knight Award for Public Service and investigative journalism, small site.

Photo: PR Newswire and Publish2 Join Forces to Help Journalists Access and Share News Online

Andrew Hartman, Director, Online Services, PR Newswire, announces partnership with Publish2 that will enable members of PR Newswire for Journalists and Publish2 to utilize the services that each organization offers to the media community. (PRNewsFoto/PR Newswire) NEW YORK, NY AND RESTON, VA UNITED STATES 02/04/2009

5 Feb 2009 15:35 Africa/Lagos


Photo: PR Newswire and Publish2 Join Forces to Help Journalists Access and Share News Online

Partnership Brings 'Link Journalism' to PR Newswire for Journalists' Members; Introduces Publish2 Participants to PRNJ's Global Media Community

NEW YORK and RESTON, Va., Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- PR Newswire and Publish2, a technology company dedicated to helping journalism survive and thrive on the Web, announced today a partnership that will enable members of PR Newswire for Journalists and Publish2 to utilize the services that each organization offers to the media community..


To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/prnewswire/36906/


(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090205/NY67064 )
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000306/PRNLOGO )


For PR Newswire for Journalists (PRNJ) members, access to Publish2's service provides powerful tools for managing their research, incorporating links into their daily workflow, and building their individual journalist brand by creating profile pages that showcase their work. Key to Publish2's platform is its unique "link journalism" technology. The system enables reporters to easily discover, save, and publish links to the most interesting content on the web. Those links can be combined with journalists' original reporting to create news hubs that help to drive audience engagement.


"The results of the Pew Research Center for People and the Press' December 23rd report confirmed what many in the media industry already knew: the Internet has surpassed print media as the primary news source for the majority of individuals," said Andrew Hartman, director, Online Services, PR Newswire. "As consumers increasingly turn to the internet for their news, there is mounting pressure for journalists to become more involved in online news and to keep audiences engaged. Our partnership with Publish2 offers members of PRNJ a unique opportunity to harness the power of Web 2.0 through 'link journalism' to enhance their research, reporting and overall online presence."


PR Newswire's award-winning, media-only Web site, PRNJ, serves as a trusted source of news and information for journalists from more than 27,000 organizations around the world, as well as for thousands of bloggers. Now available to members of Publish2, PRNJ provides a platform for reporters and bloggers to access news of interest to them through customized news feeds based on keywords, industries, subjects, companies or geographic regions and states. In addition, PRNJ offers reporters and bloggers access to news releases through more than 500 RSS feeds covering different subject matters and industries.


"PRNJ will add greatly to our community of journalists on Publish2 by introducing our services to journalists at its 27,000 media organizations," said Scott Karp, CEO, Publish2. "And our journalist members can now take advantage of PRNJ's comprehensive news release platform to help their research and reporting on the web."


PR Newswire for Journalists members who have accounts with Publish2 will easily be able to save or post a news release accessed via PRNJ by clicking on the "Save It" button that appears in the upper right hand corner of every news release. Publish2 users who click on a news release link within the Publish2 platform will be directed to PRNJ where they can access the release directly. If users are members of one site but not the other, they will be prompted to take a few easy steps to sign up for the other platform where they can begin publishing links and viewing their saved news releases.


About Publish2


Publish2 (http://www.publish2.com/) is a technology company dedicated to helping journalism survive and thrive on the web. Publish2's link journalism platform is powering the next generation of news gathering and news distribution. Journalists across the world use Publish2 to make research and reporting more efficient and effective. Major news sites and vertical niche sites use Publish2 for prominent link-aggregation features that increase traffic and engagement. Publish2 is based in Reston, VA.


About PR Newswire


PR Newswire Association LLC (http://www.prnewswire.com/) provides electronic distribution, targeting, measurement and broadcast services on behalf of tens of thousands of corporate, government, association, labor, non-profit, and other customers worldwide. Using PR Newswire, these organizations are able to reach a variety of critical audiences including the news media, the investment community, government decision-makers, and the general public with their up-to-the-minute messages in text and multimedia format.


Established in 1954, PR Newswire has offices in 14 countries and routinely sends its customers' announcements to outlets in more than 170 countries and in more than 40 languages. Utilizing the latest in communications technology, PR Newswire content is considered a mainstay among news reporters, investors and individuals who seek breaking announcements from the source. PR Newswire's leading services include ProfNet(SM), eWatch(TM), MEDIAtlas(TM), Search Engine Optimization, MediaRoom, MediaSense(TM), MultiVu(TM), U.S. Newswire, the preeminent policy newswire in the industry, Vintage Filings, the fastest growing Edgar filing company, and Hispanic PR Wire, LatinClips and Hispanic Digital Network, the foremost Hispanic communications services. PR Newswire is a subsidiary of United Business Media Limited, a leading global business media company that serves professional commercial communities around the world. For more information, go to http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com/.


About United Business Media Limited


UBM focuses on two principal activities: worldwide information distribution, targeting and monitoring; and, the development and monetisation of B2B communities and markets. UBM's businesses inform markets and serve professional commercial communities -- from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewellery traders, from farmers to pharmacists -- with integrated events, online, print and business information products. Our 6,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organised into specialist teams that serve these communities, bringing buyers and sellers together, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.


For more information, go to www.unitedbusinessmedia.com

Contact:
Rachel Meranus
Vice President, Public Relations
PR Newswire
rachel.meranus@prnewswire.com
+1.201.360.6776

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000306/PRNLOGO
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090205/NY67064
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN5
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Video: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/prnewswire/36906
Source: PR Newswire

CONTACT: Rachel Meranus, Vice President, Public Relations of PR
Newswire, +1-201-360-6776, rachel.meranus@prnewswire.com


Web Site: http://www.prnewswire.com/


Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/146750.html
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/683182.html


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