NAA announces annual Digital Edge Award finalists

The Newspaper Association of America will honor online innovators at the 13th annual Digital Awards breakfast at this month’s Marketing Conference in Orlando, Fla.

The Digital Edge Awards are part of the NAA Media Innovation Awards, which recognize the most innovative and results-generating solutions for newspaper companies in circulation, marketing, advertising and research.

“The Digital Edge Awards categories specifically honor the best in newspaper digital journalism in a variety of content and advertising areas,” said Beth Lawton, manager of digital media communications for the NAA. “This year, we received a record number of entries — more than 200.”

The NAA announced this year’s finalists in December and winners will be announced during a Feb. 24 breakfast.

Digital Award finalists were selected by 28 volunteer judges who looked at the entries with an eye toward creativity, strategy, adaptability and impact. The entries with the highest average scores represent some of the best the newspaper industry has to offer in digital media, Lawton said.


And the finalists are…

Most Innovative Multimedia Storytelling

Circ. less than 75,000
•Journal-World in Lawrence, Kan.
•Naples (Fla.) Daily News
•Ocala (Fla.) Star-Banner

Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune
•The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman
•The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman
•The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman
•The Roanoke (Va.) Times

Circ. more than 250,000
•(Minneapolis) Star Tribune
•Tribune Interactive
•(Denver) Rocky Mountain News
•The Washington Post

Most Innovative Use of Interactive Media

Circ. less than 75,000
•Cape Cod (Mass.) Media Group
•The Telegraph in Nashua, N.H.
•Amarillo (Texas) Globe-News
•Naples (Fla.) Daily News

Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn.
•Florida Today in Melbourne
•Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times/St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times

Circ. more than 250,000
•Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
•The Cincinnati Enquirer
•The Washington Post

Most Innovative Visitor Participation

Circ. less than 75,000
•Savannah (Ga.) Morning News
•The Victoria (Texas) Advocate
•The Gainesville (Fla.) Sun

Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel
•The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman
•The Ledger in Lakeland, Fla.
•The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune

Circ. more than 250,000
•The Cincinnati Enquirer
•Tribune Interactive
•The Denver Post

Best Local Guide or Entertainment Site

Circ. less than 75,000
•Scripps Newspaper Group — Florida
•Journal-World in Lawrence, Kan.
•South Coast Media Group/Ottaway Newspapers

Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•The Austin (Texas) American-Statesman
•(Tucson) Arizona Daily Star
•The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Wash.

Circ. more than 250,000
•The (Phoenix) Arizona Republic
•(Minneapolis) Star Tribune

Best Local Shopping and Directory Strategy*

Best Digital Advertising Program*

Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•The Dayton (Ohio) Daily News
•The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman

Circ. more than 250,000
•The Cincinnati Enquirer
•(Minneapolis) Star Tribune

Best Digital Classified Innovation*

Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post
•North Jersey Media Group, Trulia

Best Design and Site Architecture

Circ. less than 75,000
•The Record in Stockton, Calif.
•The Corpus Christi (Texas) Caller-Times
•The Topeka (Kan.) Capital-Journal
•Journal-World in Lawrence, Kan.
•Naples (Fla.) Daily News
•Savannah (Ga.) Morning News

Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•Dayton (Ohio) Daily News
•Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel
•The Dallas Morning News/Quick
•Times Herald-Record in Middletown, N.Y.

Circ. more than 250,000
•Tribune Co.
•The Washington Post

Best Overall News Site

Circ. less than 75,000
•Journal-World in Lawrence, Kan.
•Naples (Fla.) Daily News
•The Telegraph in Nashua, N.H.

Circ. 75,000 – 250,000
•The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn.
•The Fresno (Calif.) Bee
•Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel
•The Austin (Texas) American-Statesman

Circ. more than 250,000
•St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times/Congressional Quarterly
•The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune
•The Washington Post

* There are no finalists in the unlisted circulation level(s) in this category.