The Press Democrat’s website, pressdemocrat.com, has received the top award for a daily newspaper website in an international online journalism awards contest.
The website received the 2014 Eppy Award in the category of best daily newspaper site with under 1 million unique monthly visitors. The site was named a finalist earlier in October, the second straight year it received the honor.
This is the third Eppy Award that pressdemocrat.com has received in its history, but the first for top website. BiteClubEats.com, the site’s food-centric blog created by Online Creative Manager Heather Irwin, received the award for best entertainment blog four years ago. And in 1999, The Press Democrat received the award for best use of interactivity for creating a database-oriented website that focused on wine reviews, tastings and industry information.
The Eppy Award is the second national award this year for pressdemo crat.com, which was honored by the Local Media Association as the best community news website earlier this year.
“We’re gratified by this continued recognition by our peers. It is an ongoing challenge to keep up with the changes in technology as we deliver the area’s most compelling news report to a fast-growing audience. Thanks to a committed staff that is second to none, our digital products are meeting that challenge,” said Greg Retsinas, digital director for The Press Democrat.
The contest, in its 19th year, is organized by Editor & Publisher magazine.
Other finalists in the category include ABQJournal.com, by the Albuquerque Journal; Arkansas Online, by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; LJWorld.com, by The World Company; Sioux City Journal, by Lee Enterprises Inc.; and CJOnline.com, by The Topeka Capital-Journal.
In the category of larger newspaper websites, The Wall Street Journal received the top honor.