Finalists in the category included NYTimes.com, NPR.org and The Toronto Star. The announcement was made at the 2012 ONA Conference and Online Journalism Awards Banquet.
The interactive, launched on the eve of President Obama's announcement in support of same-sex marriage, employs colour wheels to demonstrate how the rights of gay, lesbian and transgender individuals vary across states and regions on marriage equality, adoption, anti-discrimination in housing and employment. The interactive also identifies whether definitions of hate crimes and school bullying extend to sexual orientation and gender identity.
"Our team is focused on creating timely, contextual and relevant interactives with staying power," said US interactive editor Gabriel Dance. "Our goal was to create a shareable and personal interactive that informed and engaged readers, and pushed the boundaries of interactive storytelling," added Dance.
The award comes just one year after the Guardian opened the digital newsroom in the US. Since it adopted a "digital-first" strategy in 2011, the Guardian's online readership has grown rapidly, becoming the world's third most read newspaper website in June 2012. US traffic in August topped 10.7 million unique browsers and is slated for growth, according to industry analyst ComScore.
According the Guardian, recent accomplishments include the launch of unique digital initiatives to enhance the Guardian's editorial coverage of the London 2012 Olympic Games, as well as the addition of renowned journalist Glenn Greenwald to its list of impressive US voices, which also include political commentator Ana Marie Cox, social critic and political activist Naomi Wolf, and columnist Michael Wolff.
In its first year, the Guardian has assembled a talented team of digital practitioners to help shape an open, interactive and collaborative newsroom. Interactive editor Gabriel Dance, formerly of the New York Times, and his team are joined by community engagement veteran Amanda Michel, formerly of ProPublica, as open editor to lead the Guardian's work on collaboration and crowdsourcing. Recent "open" features include "Dreamers' dreams", in which more than 60 young undocumented immigrants shared their stories with other Guardian readers, as well as hundreds of weekly call-outs for stories, insights and ideas.
"We're delighted by the recognition of the gay rights interactive, and grateful to our readers whose voices are integral to our success," said editor-in-chief Janine Gibson. "We're committed to delivering news in unique and innovative ways as we approach the US election and beyond," added Gibson.
In coming weeks, the Guardian's US team will be unveiling a range of interactive tools to enhance editorial coverage of the presidential debates and the November elections.
