Parent Participation Scoops UGC Awards

News sites and parents are a winning combination as two user-generated content (UGC) projects win prizes in the US.

An interactive website for mums and an open participation site about education have received Digital Edge Awards for innovation from the Newspaper Association of America.

CincyMOMS.com won the prize for Most Innovative Visitor Participation in the 250,000-plus circulation category for the Cincinnati Enquirer.

The website acts as a social networking and information hub for mothers and hosts blogs, photo-sharing sections and discussions.

While the Knoxville News Sentinel gained Most Innovative Visitor Participation award in the 75-250,000 category for its School Matters initiative.

Parents, teachers and other people interested in education issues can write their own blogs and chat with others, as well as joining social groups based on separate schools or areas via the website.

The Digital Edge Awards also recognised three news sites for their innovations in multimedia storytelling.

Winning in the smallest circulation category was the site run by Lawrence Journal-World and 6News in Kansas which produced a multimedia feature entitled 24 Hours in Lawrence.

This simple and effective idea comprises text, video and photos showing the activities of a variety of Lawrence residents during the course of one day - from police officers on dawn patrol to an evening game of softball.

For a full list of winners, see the Digital Edge Blog.