Poconorecord.com Wins Two State Excellence in Cyberspace Awards

STROUDSBURG, PA . — Poconorecord.com has won two awards in the 2009 Pennsylvania Newspaper Excellence in Cyberspace contest.

The first award for “Site Design” was based on the Web site’s usability and depth of content. The organization was also commended for how well it promotes content beyond the home page, and how much of the Pocono Record’s staff is involved in the day-to-day operations.

Among the items included in PoconoRecord.com’s submission for this award were a site built to collect coverage of the Pennsylvania primary, plus landing pages built to collect coverage of Pennsylvania’s redistricting reform and an ongoing series titled, “PSPCA: Animal Abuse or Abuse of Power?”

This is the second consecutive year that PoconoRecord.com won this award in its newspaper’s circulation category. The second award was for “Timeliness” for coverage of an Aug. 2008 standoff in Stroudsburg that happened next door to the newspaper’s offices.

“We are impressed with the minute-by-minute updates,” the judges said. “Mobilizing workers to do jobs that they don’t normally cover in an event is also impressive. We like the use of different angles for the story and the frequency of new posts and alerts sent to area residents. Very nice touches.”

“This win was a team effort,” said Marta Gouger, managing editor , online, for Ottaway Newspapers’ Pocono Mountain Media Group. “Everyone on the Pocono Record’s staff, not just news reporters, kicked in to do constant updates.”

The Cyberspace Awards presentation will take place on Tuesday, April 7 at the Hershey Lodge in conjunction with America East.