Online News Association recognizes Hussman School's 'Undercurrent' for excellence in visual storytelling

The Online News Association ended its conference this year with the 2016 ONA Awards Ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Convention Center in Denver on Saturday, Sept. 17, where it recognized the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media with the Excellence and Innovation in Visual Digital Storytelling, Small award for Undercurrent, a student-made documentary project.

Undercurrent incorporates multimedia storytelling techniques, including 360-degree video recording, a new technology that records video from all angles. Hussman School students and Assistant Professor Steven King traveled to the province of Bocas del Toro, Panama, to document the health of the coral reefs by incorporating bilingual storytelling and cutting-edge multimedia techniques.

“It was quite exciting for the students to compete and win in the professional category. After the event, they have several editors and managers from major publications come up to them to congratulate them and share job opportunities," King said, "I was already proud of them for coming up with some crazy ideas they had no idea how to accomplish and then for coming through to execute them under deadline. This award helps the students realize what an accomplishment it is."

The Online News Association is the world’s largest association of online journalists. This is the first award the Hussman School has won at the annual ONA conference. ONA’s mission is to inspire innovation and excellence among journalists to better serve the public.