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September 25, 2022

2022 Online Journalism Awards winners include The Boston Globe, LAist, The Trace and Mission Local

Journalists from around the world announced as winners for excellence in topical reporting, investigations, digital video storytelling and 20 more categories


LOS ANGELES, Sept. 24, 2022 — Outstanding coverage of the climate crisis, data privacy, caregiving in the pandemic and Germany’s historical reckoning were among the winners honored in the 2022 Online Journalism Awards—the Online News Association’s annual global showcase of journalism excellence and digital innovation.

Logos for Letterhead and AndscapeWinners were announced throughout the 2022 Online News Association Conference (ONA22), Sept. 21–24 in Los Angeles. The weeklong celebration culminated in a lively and inspiring evening, Sept. 24, hosted by comedian Dana Goldberg.

Letterhead provided support for the 2022 OJAs reception, while Andscape sponsored the banquet and awards ceremony.

As part of this year’s awards showcase, ONA also previously announced the 2022 recipients of four awards bestowed by special committees on individuals or small groups. Honorees included:

Six categories in the 2022 OJAs come with a total of $57,000 in prize money. Mission LocalThe TraceLAist and Boston Globe each received $5,000 as winners for General Excellence in Online Journalism, supported by SmartNews. Propublica and The Washington Post won the University of Florida Award for Investigative Data Journalism. Winners will each receive a $7,500 prize and an expenses-paid trip to Florida to lead full-day workshops.

New this year, the 3M Truth in Science Award honors a single story that demonstrates excellence in science journalism to educate and engage audiences while combating misinformation. The $3,500 prize went to Vox Media in the Small/Medium Newsroom category, and to Palm Beach Post and ProPublica in the Large Newsroom category.

The Trace and Southern California Public Radio (KPCC/LAist) were named winners for the Gather Award in Community-Centered Journalism. Each received $2,500 in prize money thanks to the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communications.

The 2022 Knight Award for Public Service—with a $5,000 prize supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation—honored Nashville Public Radio’s WPLN News and ProPublica for a year-long investigation of the juvenile justice system in Rutherford County. The Topical Reporting: Climate Change award, with a $5,000 prize courtesy of McKinsey Publishing went to Los Angeles Times, for a series on the consequences of extreme heat.

In addition to the science journalism honor, ONA added two other categories to this year’s lineup. The Colorado SunThe Philadelphia Inquirer and VICE World News were named winners for Excellence in Social Media Engagement. The award for Topical Reporting: Olympics and Paralympics Coverage went to FYT Media and the Phillippine Center for Investigative JournalismVox Media and The New York Times.

Here is the full list of the 2022 Online Journalism Awards winners in 23 categories that were open for submissions:

General Excellence in Online Journalism, Large Newsroom
  • The Boston Globe
General Excellence in Online Journalism, Medium Newsroom
  • LAist
General Excellence in Online Journalism, Small Newsroom
  • The Trace
General Excellence in Online Journalism, Micro Newsroom
  • Mission Local
3M Truth in Science Award, Large Newsroom
  • Black Snow: Big Sugar’s Burning Problem, Palm Beach Post, ProPublica
3M Truth in Science Award, Small/Medium Newsroom
  • How American conservatives turned against the vaccine, Vox Media
Breaking News, Large Newsroom
  • Russia’s War On Ukraine, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Breaking News, Small/Medium Newsroom
  • Breaking News: Uvalde School Shooting, The Texas Tribune
Digital Video Storytelling, Long Form, Large Newsroom
  • De-Escalate: The story of an intense protest on an Atlanta interstate, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Digital Video Storytelling, Long Form, Small/Medium Newsroom
  • Greywater, The New Yorker
Digital Video Storytelling, Medium Form, Large Newsroom
  • The Healing Kitchen, South China Morning Post
Digital Video Storytelling, Medium Form, Small/Medium Newsroom
  • A Feast for Lost Souls, The Atavist Magazine
Digital Video Storytelling, Series, Large Newsroom
  • Transnational, VICE World News
Digital Video Storytelling, Series, Small/Medium Newsroom
  • Extremism in America, Retro Report, The WNET Group
Digital Video Storytelling, Short Form, Small/Medium Newsroom
  • How the .001% Use Retirement Accounts as Tax-Free Piggy Banks, ProPublica
Excellence and Innovation in Visual Digital Storytelling, Large Newsroom
  • Inside the Apocalyptic Worldview of ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight,’ The New York Times
Excellence and Innovation in Visual Digital Storytelling, Medium Newsroom
  • Mapping where the earth will become uninhabitable, FUNKE Zentralredaktion – Interaktiv
Excellence and Innovation in Visual Digital Storytelling, Small Newsroom
  • For you, Portugal, I swear!, Divergente
Excellence in Audio Digital Storytelling, Limited Series
  • Un(re)solved, FRONTLINE
Excellence in Audio Digital Storytelling, Ongoing Series
  • The Facebook Files Podcasts, The Wall Street Journal
Excellence in Audio Digital Storytelling, Use of Audio Storytelling
  • Making Sense: How sound becomes hearing, Vox Media
Excellence in Collaboration and Partnerships
  • “No Light. No Nothing.” Inside Louisiana’s Harshest Juvenile Lockup, The Marshall Project, NBC News, ProPublica
Excellence in Immersive Storytelling
  • Un(re)solved, FRONTLINE, Ado Ato Pictures
Excellence in Newsletters, Portfolio
  • Black and Latino Tennessee Voices newsletters, The Tennessean
Excellence in Newsletters, Single Newsletter
  • Bulletin: Les bonne infos (The good news), Bulletin
Excellence in Social Justice Reporting, Portfolio
  • The stench of death: On Canada’s Highway of Tears, Al Jazeera Digital
Excellence in Social Justice Reporting, Single Story
  • Inaccessible Cities, AJ Contrast, Al Jazeera Digital
Excellence in Social Media Engagement, Large Newsroom
  • VICE World News TikTok, VICE World News
Excellence in Social Media Engagement, Medium Newsroom
  • The Philadelphia Inquirer Italian Hoagie Bracket, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Excellence in Social Media Engagement, Small Newsroom
  • Marshall Fire coverage, The Colorado Sun
Explanatory Reporting, Large Newsroom
  • Ukraine Invasion, The Washington Post
Explanatory Reporting, Medium Newsroom
  • The Secret IRS Files, ProPublica
Explanatory Reporting, Small Newsroom
  • Germany’s historical reckoning is a warning for the U.S., Coda Story
Feature, Large Newsroom
  • The Badge and The Cross, Associated Press
Feature, Medium Newsroom
  • Hell at Abbey Gate, ProPublica, Alive in Afghanistan
Feature, Small Newsroom
  • Road to Ruin, Grist, CoastAlaska, Earthrise Media, The Pulitzer Center
Gather Award in Community-Centered Journalism, Overall Excellence, Medium/Large Newsroom
  • Caring for children in the pandemic, Southern California Public Radio
Gather Award in Community-Centered Journalism, Overall Excellence, Micro/Small Newsroom
  • Up The Block, The Trace
Knight Award for Public Service
  • Black Children Were Jailed for a Crime That Doesn’t Exist. Almost Nothing Happened to the Adults in Charge, Nashville Public Radio’s WPLN News, ProPublica
Online Commentary
  • Postcards From a World on Fire, The New York Times
Sports, Large Newsroom
  • Future of the summer games, The Washington Post
Sports, Small/Medium Newsroom
  • A pickle(ball) in paradise, NJ Advance Media
Student Journalism Award, Student Portfolio
  • Aloha ʻāina, The NewHouse School at Syracuse University, The NewsHouse
Student Journalism Award, Student Team Portfolio
  • Printing Hate, Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland
The Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award, Large Newsroom
  • The Pegasus Project: A global investigation, The Washington Post, The Guardian US, Forbidden Stories
The Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award, Medium Newsroom
  • The Secretive Prisons That Keep Migrants Out of Europe, The Outlaw Ocean Project, The New Yorker
The Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award, Small Newsroom
  • The Spy Tech That Followed Kids Home, The 74
Topical Reporting: Climate Change
  • Extreme heat’s deadly toll, Los Angeles Times
Topical Reporting: Olympics and Paralympics Coverage, Large Newsroom
  • Visualizing the Athleticism of the Olympics, The New York Times
Topical Reporting: Olympics and Paralympics Coverage, Medium Newsroom
  • Vox Video: Winter Sports Week, Vox Media
Topical Reporting: Olympics and Paralympics Coverage, Small Newsroom
  • Anatomy of Philippines’ first Olympic gold medal,  FYT Media, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism
Topical Reporting: Pandemic Coverage, Portfolio
  • The COVID housing crisis, Center for Public Integrity, Associated Press
Topical Reporting: Pandemic Coverage, Single Story
  • Rising up in the heartland: Latino workers fight for pandemic relief, Univision News Digital
University of Florida Award in Investigative Data Journalism, Large Newsroom
  • Police Misconduct, The Washington Post
University of Florida Award in Investigative Data Journalism, Small/Medium Newsroom
  • Sacrifice Zones: Mapping Cancer-Causing Industrial Air Pollution, ProPublica

Launched in 2000, the Online Journalism Awards are the only comprehensive set of journalism prizes honoring excellence in digital journalism, focusing on independent, community, nonprofit, major media and international news sites.

Find more highlights from the 2022 Online Journalism Awards using #OJA22 on social media and watch the ceremony at awards.journalists.org/live.