Wednesday, July 26, 2006

2006 Knight-Batten Awards

Seven new ways to connect people with news - from showing every Congressional vote, to warning where hurricanes will strike, to blogging the world - are the winners of this year's Knight-Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism.

"The hallmark of this year's entries was the use of basic technology to add value to the process of journalism and not just the packaging," said Jan Schaffer, executive director of J-Lab, which administers the awards program.

A national panel of judges chose winners for a $10,000 Grand Prize, five $1,000 Awards of Distinction, and, new this year, a $1,000 Wild Card Award.

The top winner will be announced Sept. 18 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Highlighting that event will be a keynote address by Alberto Ibargüen, president and chief executive of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which funds the awards. To attend the awards symposium and luncheon, RSVP to news@j-lab.org.

The Knight-Batten Awards spotlight the creative use of new information ideas and technologies to involve citizens in public issues. They are administered by J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism at the University of Maryland.

You can view the winners as well as many other notable entries at www.j-lab.org.

The Knight-Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism honor the late James K. Batten, former CEO of Knight Ridder newspapers and a pioneer in exploring ways journalism could better connect with audiences.

Click on headline above to read the full news release.

No comments: