The first edition of the awards, presented Tuesday in a ceremony during the 7th Tablet & App Summit at the World Publishing Expo in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, was open to winners of WAN-IFRA's European Digital Media Awards and Asian Digital Media Awards. Other regions will be added in coming years.
"The awards aim to be no less than the most prestigious competition in the industry for publishers to benchmark their digital offerings," said Vincent Peyrègne, CEO of WAN-IFRA. "As news publishers re-invent themselves, it is essential to recognise, and learn from, media that are finding outstanding, innovative ways to demonstrate the opportunities that digital provides. WAN-IFRA serves as a network to bring news media innovators together, and these Global Awards play a big role in that mission."
The 2014 winners include:
Best News Website: The Guardian - Guardian News & Media
Best Digital Advertising Campaign: General Election - Kleine Zeitung
Best Use of Online Video: How to put a human on Mars - BBC News
Best Data Visualisation Project: Null CTRL - Dagbladet
Best Mobile Service: Apple Daily NGA - Apple Daily
Best in Tablet Publishing: The Age - Fairfax Media
Best Reader Engagement: World Chess Championship 2013 - Verdens Gang
Best Outstanding New Product: godt.no - Verdens Gang