224 - Best Web Site
Class 2241
Judge: Vicki Gilhula
What set the winners apart from the other entries was their use of interactive features and rich media such as video and news podcasts. The winning entries have added-value features such as photo galleries and videos. They also allow readers to be citizen journalists by inviting them to send in their own photos and videos, as well as comment on stories and vote on poll issues. In general, most of the web stories were too long. They should be shorter than print versions and written in traditional pyramid style. Web readers are scanners; they want the facts fast, and few will scale down several screens of a story to finish it.
First place- The use of videos/webcams gives the Parry Sound North Star’s website the edge over the competition. It is easy to navigate and search. The North Star embraced web technology earlier than many community newspapers. They got it right and continue to get better every year.
Second Place- Bugle Observer’s site looks good and was easy and convenient to navigate with lots of headlines and story choices on the homepage. This eliminates the need to go searching for information. The links to other media makes the reader feel plugged into the community and province. It’s really too bad that Woodstock didn’t have videos since it would deserve the number one spot if it did. It has a great web 2.0 feel and tons of options from articles to podcasts to get users involved in the site.
Third Place- The Review is not as slick as the Parry South North Star or Woodstock Bugle Observer but it has more heart. There is a folksy page on the history of the paper and pictures of staff. The audio podcast conversation between the editor and reporter is a nice touch. Someone is working very hard on loading this site with information!
Class 2242
Judge: David Little
Unavailable at press time.
Class 2243
Judge: Ron Ennis
Because of the complexity of judging such a category, two other judges were enlisted to assisted with the final results, two managers one whose responsibilities include IT and design; and, the second, manager of newspaper layout. The initial findings were interesting in as much as the same five sites were identified, however there were differences in terms of preferences for final placement on the score sheet. Identified were: Immediacy of impact on the observer; Attention to order of material, especially local content; Quality and uniqueness of the logos/images used; Use and placement of photographs; Attention to the size of nameplate; Headlines and flow of copy; Quality and placement of advertisements; Amount of pertinent information for viewer; Ease of reading, i.e. font size. The exercise of judging took place over a couple of weeks with each of the judging having to review their findings on a number of occasions. When the average of the final scores were tabulated, the results were as follows: www.durhamregion.com, 83.5 points; www.oakvillebeaver.com, 81 points; and www.abbynews,com, 77 points. Our sincere congratulations to the winners.
