Will update with more later today, but did want to let everyone know that JDLand.com won the Citizen Media award at today's 2008 Knight-Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism. Big big thanks to them for the recognition.
UPDATE: Here's the press release, and the section of most interest: "Winning a
$2,000 Citizen Media Award is the ambitious
JDLand.com, Jacqueline Dupree's digital chronicle of redevelopment, construction and community concerns in Washington, D.C.'s rapidly changing Southeast/ Ballpark district. Using text,
Twitter, interactive maps, and before-and-now photos, the site is 'an incredible wealth of information, especially impressive for a one-person effort,' the judges said." (Winning the $10,000 first prize was Wired.com's WikiScanner, while PolitiFact.com and Ushahidi.com both won $2,000 Special Distinction awards.)
There's a lot of people who have been very generous in giving me their time and information over the past five-plus years--and equally important are the folks who have stumbled into this nook of the web and allowed me to feed off their enthusiasm for the information and the photos. Thanks to all of you! This is about the highest honor a little site like this can ever reasonably expect to receive, and so I'm just beyond thrilled.
Fun factoid: Ron Paul, Bob Barr, Cynthia McKinney, and Ralph Nader were holding a press conference in the ballroom next door to the Knight-Batten awards (at the National Press Club), and just before the Knight shindig got underway, Ron Paul stuck his head in for a moment to see what was going on. Presidential candidate meets innovative journalism.....!