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Four Tribune Interactive Web Sites
Win EPpy Awards
Latimes.com,
Metromix.com, Newsday.com and Sun-sentinel.com honored for
Best-in-Breed online journalism
CHICAGO, February 12, 2002 --
Tribune Interactive, Inc., a leader in
interactive news and information Web sites and a subsidiary
of Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB), announced today that four of
its Web sites - latimes.com,
metromix.com,
newsday.com
and sun-sentinel.com
- were awarded 2002 EPpy Awards at the Editor & Publisher
Interactive Newspapers Conference on Feb. 8.
"The EPpy Awards have long been a top
recognition of interactive news organizations," said
David Hiller, Tribune Interactive president. "Tribune
is proud of the editorial and technical teams that have worked
hard to make latimes.com, metromix.com, newsday.com and sun-sentinel.com
leading sites. They've remained focused during a challenging
period to provide timely, relevant breaking news, information
and utility to their users."
Latimes.com won the EPpy Award for Best Overall
U.S. Newspaper Online Service among newspapers with national
or daily circulation of more than 250,000. The site draws
approximately 1.9 million unique visitors a month, has more
than 70,000 registered users and is the primary source of
news and information for and about Southern California. Other
award finalists in the category were washingtonpost.com and
nytimes.com.
In 2001, the Los Angeles Times extended its
presence online, improving the integration of its online and
print operations and increasing its original breaking news
coverage of major world, national and local news events. On
a daily basis, latimes.com editors and producers work with
Times foreign, national and local staff writers to prepare
audio, video, graphics and story content for the site.
"At latimes.com, the emphasis is on the
story-presented with the timeliness, accuracy and detail people
expect of the Los Angeles Times," says Richard Core,
latimes.com editor. "We continually strive to use the
tools of this medium to expand and enrich the storytelling
experience for our users. The EPpy award is recognition that
we are moving forward in our efforts to make latimes.com one
of the first places people go to for news, information and
insight."
Metromix.com, Chicago's leading online entertainment
source, took home the award for Best Entertainment Section.
Other award category finalists were azcentral.com, the online
news and information source of the Arizona Republic, and washingtonpost.com.
Metromix.com's compelling content, habit-forming utilities
and dynamic interactive features and services provide users
an online resource to plan their leisure time. The site provides
20,000 event listings and 15,000 destination capsules, providing
essential dining, nightlife, festival, movies, music, stage,
museum and recreation news. From dining experts' recommendations
on the best BYOB restaurants, to tips on snagging sold-out
concert tickets, plus more than 13,000 reader opinions on
bars and restaurants, Metromix helps a demanding and diverse
audience discover new and satisfying entertainment options.
"Metromix has a unique voice and serves
its audience with a wealth of engaging and useful information,"
says Leigh Behrens, Metromix editor. "It's extremely
gratifying to have the creativity and dedication of the Metromix
team recognized with this award."
Metromix.com was also honored in July 2001
with a Digital Edge Award for the Best Regional or City Guide
from the Newspaper Association of America.
Newsday.com, the online edition of the nation's
fifth largest metropolitan daily newspaper, won the EPpy for
Best News Section. Other award finalists in the category were
washingtonpost.com and nytimes.com. In May 2000, newsday.com
launched a news program providing breaking news and updates
to users. Its goal was to allow newsday.com to issue breaking
news first, followed by the complete story in the newspaper
the following day.
An example of newsday.com's editorial leadership
is seen in the special section "Remembering the Lost,"
a searchable database of more than 3,000 names of Sept. 11
victims. The special section includes more than 900 photos
and thousands of personal profiles written by Newsday writers
as well as writers from Tribune's 10 other daily newspapers.
The database logged 1.3 million page views during the first
four weeks it was available.
"The award is not only a credit to the
dedicated newsday.com staff, but to all the reporters, photographers
and editors that lend their talent and energy to the site
each day from every corner of the newsroom," says Howard
Schneider, Newsday's managing editor and vice president of
content development. "This recognition belongs to all
of them."
South Florida's sun-sentinel.com won Best Special
Section for "Witness to an Epidemic - AIDS in the Caribbean,"
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/witness, a multimedia, multilingual
report of the effect of AIDS in some Caribbean countries.
Other award finalists in the category were dallasnews.com
and seattletimes.com.
Published in June 2001, sun-sentinel.com re-packaged
the "Witness to an Epidemic" print version to better
appeal to a Web audience. The online version - broken down
into six chapters of about 500 words each - was presented
via Flash with photos, links to section news stories and statistics
regarding the impact of AIDS and available medical care in
15 Caribbean countries. Sun-sentinel.com offered the section
in three languages - English, Creole and Spanish - to help
ensure the material was accessible to the people of the countries
featured in the section.
The chapters featured the epidemic's effect
on women and children; the influence of drug trade and sex
industries; Haiti's high incidence of AIDS; and some of the
countries' solutions to fighting the devastating disease.
The section was presented online in two formats, one for low-bandwidth
users and another narrated in television documentary style
for users with high-speed connections.
"Witness to an Epidemic" also gained
recognition in November 2001 from the Online Journalism Association,
winning the Online Journalism Award for Feature Journalism.
"What makes this effort so special is
our team's ability to rewrite, reedit and redesign a print
product to take full advantage of the sound, animation and
interactivity of the Internet," says Jeff Glick, South
Florida Sun-Sentinel's deputy managing editor and creative
director. "We were able to deliver a compelling story
to a broader audience and tell it in a unique way."
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Tribune Interactive, Inc. operates leading
interactive news and information Web sites in major markets
across the United States, including 18 of the top 30 markets.
The sites attract more than 7 million unique visitors per
month, and rank among the top 20 interactive news/information
networks in the country.
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