Why can’t local TV win online?

OK, this is our second year of tracking this and the question still remains:  Why are local TV stations nowhere to be found on the list of Online Journalism Award nominees?  I mean really, when the AARP is winning more awards for great video than local TV stations, it may just be time to hang it up!

Take a look at the finalists for the category of  Online Video Journalism, Small Site:

In the large site category, things aren’t really any better, though at least ESPN is a television network:

So, what’s up with this?  I asked long-time photojournalist turned Web expert Rich Murphy.  Rich oversees the Web site for WTTG in Washington, DC.

“Could be that TV (web) journalists are still more used to the traditional awards and stick to what they know to enter,” Murphy said.  “Most TV web sites are still reliant on re-purposing what is produced for the broadcast side.  Not many TV stations web producers have the time or freedom to go out in the field to do original reporting.”

Photojournalist and author of the News Videographer blog, Angela Grant says newspapers, in particular, may be trying harder online.

In the past few years newspapers freaked out because their print revenues were declining, and they decided to try to make up their losses using the Internet. So they pushed their employees to innovate online and to work hard to develop web skills. This caused newspaper web sites to get better and better. This caused newspaper reporters and photojournalists to experiment with online video, and by now they’ve had a good chunk of time to polish their skills. When they want to enter contests, they think immediately of online-  or Internet-focused contests.

Now it’s your turn – what’s happening here?  Is it that TV stations aren’t entering or is it that they’re not creating unique and compelling online video?  Maybe a little of both?  Let us know.

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