College of Journalism Innovation Award winner announced
Charles Miller
edits this blog. Twitter: @chblm
Innovation winners
David Hayward, organiser of the award and the conference, said he was "just blown away" by the entries that had been received. And he was pleased to find that "it wasn't all about gadgets" but as much about how to tell stories.
Having set aside two days to go through the entries, he said he had to devote two whole weeks and two weekends to studying them.
They were narrowed down to a final six. Each finalist was presented with a certificate, because, Hayward said, any of them would have been a worthy winner. The panel of judges were "all very, very impressed".
A team from Goldsmiths University had presented election hustings online in an easily accessible form. There was a blog about science; a story about a transatlantic gay couple who used innovative online research methods; an analysis of 250 hours of football relating to goal-line technology; and an innovative broadcast about a strike day.
After hours of debate, said Hayward, the winner was picked: a team from the University of East Anglia which had created a report on homelessness that was shown in the Forum in Norwich. Hayward described it as "truly astonishing".
The award was presented by the controller of BBC Radio 5 Live, Adrian Van Klaveren.
The winning entry can be seen here - although its real innovation lies in how it was presented in public in Norwich. Further details about the finalists will be posted on this blog shortly.
Runners-up:
- Raziye Akkoc and Laurence Dodds, Goldsmiths University - London GLA Election Debate.
- Adam Smith, Greg Jones and Lisa Raffensperger, City University London - Purse String Theory - Science Funding blog.
- Brian Plumridge, Liverpool Hope University - Civil Rights in the USA.
- Tim Long, Lincoln University - Goal Line Technology.
- Will Cooper, University of Winchester - Strike Day 30th November 2011.
The winner:
- Nathaniel Dove, Alex Francis, Wil Hanford and Guy Wilson, UEA - 16:01.
