The Online News Association has opened entries for its annual contest, the Online Journalism Awards (OJA). Deadline to apply is June 4.
Among the novelties this year is the creation of two new categories. One of them will recognize the work done with newsletters, a format widely used by media organizations to spread news and create connections with readers.
“This category honors email newsletters that serve as a conduit to delivering news and information. Entries should showcase a unique voice, whether the newsletter is issued by an individual or an organization,” reads a statement from ONA.
The other new category is topical reporting on climate change. ONA has already planned to expand it in the future, to cover “reporting projects on other issues of public concern or specific beats, including elections and global sporting events,” ONA said.
In addition to these two new ones, there are also 19 other categories, many of which entail more than one award, which can recognize different formats or the size of participating newsrooms. In all, 42 works will be recognized at OJA 2020.
Last year, outlets from Latin America won three awards. Argentina’s La Nación won with coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, in the category Sports for a Large Newsroom, and with the project “Driver's Notebooks Exposed Argentina’s Greatest Corruption Scandal Ever,” for the Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award for a Large Newsroom.
The Cuban website El Toque's project “La Cuba que viene” (The Cuba that comes) won the category Explanatory Reporting in a Small Newsroom.
The Online Journalism Awards has existed since 2000. In this edition, the submitted works must have been published between June 1, 2019 and May 31, 2020. There are special awards for students, which have a discounted registration fee: US $15 for ONA members and $50 for non-members. The other registrations cost US $100 for members and US $175 for non-members.
