News.com wins First Amendment award
CNET News.com wins an award from the Society of Professional Journalists for extensive coverage of First Amendment issues related to the Internet.
The 15th annual James Madison Freedom of Information Awards, sponsored by the Northern California chapter of the journalism group, recognized News.com "for unusually extensive coverage of online free speech and cyberliberties issues such as filtering, censorship, domain name disputes, and encryption." The site won the online media category of the contest, which also honored various print and broadcast journalists.
"Free speech issues rarely get detailed coverage in the mainstream or Internet trade press, but News.com's Internet news section provides ongoing and in-depth coverage and archives the articles in a way that enables readers to see cyberliberties issues in context and to learn more about them," the group said in a statement.
It was News.com's second award from the Society of Professional Journalists in recent months. The site won first place for online features in November with a special report on major corporate alliances shaping the Internet's future.
The award is the latest of many received by News.com since its launch in 1996. Last year, News.com won "an unprecedented third straight EPpy Award in the category of Best Non-Newspaper Online News Service," according to Editor & Publisher. The site also received a first-place feature award from the Computer Press Association for a report titled "When worlds collide."
News.com was the first news site ever to be given a Webby Award, besting the online edition of The New York Times and ABCNews.com, among others.