Trib finalist in 2 categories for prestigious international journalism competition

The Tribune-Review has been named a two-time finalist in a prestigious international journalism competition for its documentary marking the first anniversary of the 2018 attack on the Tree of Life synagogue and an initiative to engage a younger audience through an eSports platform.

It was announced late last week that the Trib is a finalist in two categories in the North American Digital Media Awards: Best Use of Online Video and Best Digital Project to Engage Young and/or Millennial Audiences.

Winners in the North American competition go on to compete internationally in the World Digital Media Awards against regional winners from Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America. The international awards — the only truly global digital media competition — were set to be presented in Spain later this year, although that event has been postponed due to the coronavirus crisis.

Germany-based World Association of News Publishers will announce the North American winners on May 15. Entries came from across the United States and Canada.

Other finalists in the video category are the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and USA Today.

A team of Trib reporters, visual journalists and editors spent months interviewing survivors, congregants, community members and others about the mass shooting at the synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood. Eleven congregants from three congregations — Tree of Life-Or L’Simcha, New Light and Dor Hadash — were killed by gunfire during Shabbat services on Oct. 27, 2018.

“Our hope was to create a lasting tribute to those touched by this horrific day in our region’s history. We are humbled by this recognition, but our thoughts at this time remain with those who died that day and those whose lives were forever changed by this tragedy,” said Trib Total Media President and Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Bertetto.

In 2015, Trib Total Media identified the eSports market as an opportunity to reach a younger, broader audience. Trib affiliate 535media partnered with South Korean eSports media company Inven to form InvenGlobal, providing news coverage of eSports and related interests to an audience primarily between the ages of 18 and 34.

English-language site InvenGlobal launched its beta website in 2016 and became operational in 2017. In 2019, its operations expanded to include eSports consulting and marketing for game companies.

“The 18- to 34-year-old audience is one that most publications are not engaging, nor have they found a way to,” said Joe Lawrence, vice president of Development and Investments with 535media. “Through our investment in InvenGlobal, we are not only reaching and engaging them, we are proactively planning for a robust future of engagement with this audience.”

Other finalists in the digital project category are The Washington Post and News-O-Matic, a newspaper for kids based in New York City.