October 29, 2024
(press release)
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The Online Journalism Awards, presented by the Online News Association, recognized The New York Times for its innovative digital storytelling from across the Newsroom and Opinion, with The Times winning five awards. Alone and Exploited, an investigation by Hannah Dreier into America’s hidden migrant-child work force, won in two categories: Excellence in Social Justice Reporting, Portfolio, and the Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award, Large Newsroom. Hannah revealed migrant children working in violation of child labor laws in all 50 states, making products for some of the country’s best-known brands. The judges praised her work, calling it a “striking, terrifying portrait of the new reality of child labor in America.” They added: “The stories feel like a true portfolio, in that the reporter used each story to explore the issue from a different angle. The ‘ruferitos’ feature was particularly strong for illuminating a social media subculture to enhance the storytelling.” In the Excellence in Visual Digital Storytelling, Large Newsroom category, The Times won for “Inside the Deadly Maui Inferno, Hour by Hour.” The project reconstructed the movement of the wildfire that raged through the city of Lahaina, Hawaii, on Aug. 8, 2023 — as well as the fate of some who found themselves in its deadly path. Mike Baker, Malika Khurana, K.K. Rebecca Lai, Riley Mellen, Natalie Reneau, Bedel Saget, Elena Shao, Anjali Singhvi and Charlie Smart used new 3-D mapping technology, along with visual evidence, data and interviews to tell the story, which was built around the analysis and curation of videos posted on social media. The investigation highlighted key failures by officials and a lack of effective emergency response systems, which left thousands trapped by the blaze. The Times also won for “They Started Playing Football as Young as 6. They Died in Their Teens and Twenties With C.T.E.” in the Sports, Health and Wellness, Large Newsroom category. The team — Kassie Bracken, John Branch, Ben Laffin, Rebecca Lieberman, Joe Ward and Jeremy White — spoke to the families of some deceased athletes who had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a progressive brain disease caused by repetitive hits to the head. They wove together gripping interviews with childhood videos, graphic explainers and the saved messages left behind by the young men to make this intimate multimedia interactive. And in the Online Commentary, Personal Narrative category, Opinion won for “1,374 Days: My Life With Long Covid,” a guest essay by Giorgia Lupi. A designer and information visualization expert, Giorgia used symptom-brushstrokes to visualize, over three years of obsessive journaling, her long Covid experience, viscerally illuminating what life is like for those suddenly struck by a mysterious, post-viral chronic illness. Her innovative use of data visualization enlightened readers, and the judges said that the “more artistic charts really helped frame the concept so readers could understand the story better, adding texture.” They added: “In a vast continuum of coverage of Covid, it stands out above the rest.” The Times also had finalists in eight categories, including for General Excellence: Congratulations to all! A full list of the winners and finalists is available here.
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