2007 online results ONLINE ENTERPRISE REPORTING First place: "Sealing Our Borders," Staff, The Arizona Daily Star This project stood apart. It is a great piece of enterprise reporting, a compelling and convincing investigation of a single critical question. More importantly, it is terrific online reporting. The integrated use of multiple strengths of the medium is what sets this package on a level above the others. Video, interactive maps, audio, slideshows and other online storytelling tools are not presented as after-the-fact add-ons. Rather, they play a central role in telling the larger story. The package pulls the reader in, allowing for a variety of non-linear reading patterns and rewarding each choice. What could have made it better? While the live chats were a nice touch, this project absolutely cries out for a way for readers to comment on the information presented. Second place: "License to Harm," Michael J. Berens, Julia Sommerfeld, Carol M. Ostrom, Paige Bills, Heidi Brown and Matt Pressnall, The Seattle Times Database-driven reporting has lost some of its luster as video, audio, social networking and other online storytelling tools have been embraced at papers across the country. But as this package shows, it has lost none of its power. The misconduct database is the heart and soul of this series. It provides the data that drives the stories and, just as importantly, it exposes that data to the audience in a simple, intuitive and useful way. This is database reporting as it should be done in our medium. What could have made it better? Multimedia reporting that allowed the intensely personal stories behind the data to live in the voices of those involved. Third place: "John Muir Trail," Jennifer Ward, The Fresno Bee Think blogs aren't a reporting tool? This ambitious, entertaining and engaging project shows otherwise. The premise is simple enough - allow three reporters hiking the John Muir Trail to record their experiences in a shared blog. The result is wonderful. The use of a blog provides the narrative with a degree of freedom - and an expectation to interact - we rarely give ourselves in more traditional article forms. What could have made it better? Integration of the slide shows, videos and photos into the blog itself. Judged by Will Tacy, editor of StarTribune.com, Minneapolis. 16 entries. ONLINE MULTIMEDIA STORYTELLING First place: "Frank Sandoval: A Survival Story," Pauline Lubens, Mark Emmons, Richard Koci Hernandez and Geri Migileicz, San Jose Mercury News At its finest, multimedia storytelling should capture the emotional edge and depth of a story. This story does exactly that, and more. By allowing the video camera to be our eyes and ears as Frank Sandoval and his family face each challenge on his long struggle to recover, the reporters place us at the center of this deeply personal story. Second place: "More than Just a Sport," Albert Corona, Silvia Flores and Martha Sarabia, The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Calif. Great multimedia stories can happen anywhere, can come from any coverage area. This package introduces the audience to a small and special world, and does so in a manner that is endlessly inviting and intriguing. Each video, each slideshow pulls the user deeper into the culture, history and intricacies of Charreria; the result is a fascinating and uniquely satisfying online voyage. Third place (three-way tie): "A Sister's Gift," Sonya Doctorian and Ken Harper, Rocky Mountain News "From Mexico to California," Tom Kisken, Ventura County Star "Lost Treasures," Jeff Nachtigal, The Bakersfield Californian These three entries, while different, all shared one thing in common: They captured a larger story by allowing people to tell their own, personal stories. Whether that story is the wrenchingly personal decision to donate a kidney to an ill brother, the multi-layered narrative of immigrants studying to pass the citizenship exam or a nostalgic shared look at a city's lost landmarks and the memories that remain, these entries all take the audience to a new place. Judged by Will Tacy, editor of StarTribune.com, Minneapolis. 44 entries.