Winning Web site: TC Daily Planet

We are happy to report -- make that very happy to report -- that the Twin Cities Daily Planet won the Page One award for Best Web Site (Independent) from the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists chapter at an awards ceremony held at St. Paul's Town and Country Club on June 12. The Daily Planet also won honors for a single news story (Preserving the Great Lakes by Anna Pratt) and for our New Minnesotans Speak blog. MinnPost and the Minnesota Monitor (now the Minnesota Independent) were also honored for their Web sites and stories. The Monitor won first place story for Annarama! Anna Nicole Smith and the Experience Newspaper by Paul Schmelzer and best newsroom blog for EricBlackInk.

Judges praised the "great design" of the Daily Planet Web site, citing "local content that is relevant...sleek and colorful design."

New Minnesotans Speak is a multi-author Daily Planet blog featuring voices of new Minnesotans. Many of them participate as part of English Language Learning classes, either in high school or in adult literacy programs. Along with the Daily Planet's newest blog partner, Hispanic Fanatic and other TC Daily Planet blogs, New Minnesotans Speak offers a variety of voices to Daily Planet readers.

Awards for online operations affiliated with traditional news organizations went to City Pages, the St. Cloud Times, the Duluth News Tribune, St. Paul Pioneer Press and KSTP-TV.

In the mainstream media categories of newspaper journalism, the Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press each won multiple awards in the over 50,000 circulation category, with City Pages also snaring several awards. In the under 50,000 circulation category, multiple awards went to the Duluth News Tribune, The Free Press, The St. Cloud Times, and Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal. Press Publications and the Downtown Journal each won two awards. Community media partner, The Northeaster, won one newspaper award, as did the Burnsville Sun-Current, the Downtown Journal, St. Croix Valley Press, Minnesota Sun Newspapers, Future 610, and White Bear Press.

Rochester Magazine and Minnesota Law and Politics were the big winners in the magazine category, followed by Minnesota Monthly, with ROI Central Minnesota, Rochester Women Magazine and the University of St. Thomas Magazine each picking up honors for a single story. Television honors went to KSTP, KARE, KMSP, WCCO and Fox 21 News. Radio awards went to Minnesota Public Radio in the 3+ newsroom employees categories and to KNSI for the less than 3 newsroom employees categories.

The Page One awards are presented annually by the Minnesota chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.