First place: Katy Bergen, The Herald-Tribune

About this entry: After reporter Katy Bergen learned that an international dragon boat festival for 3,000 breast cancer survivors would be held in our community, she developed a unique coverage plan: Build a special site for event coverage. Bombard it with profiles, race stories, videos, tweets and larger take-outs. And deliberately push that content to the readers that arguably care about it the most — the participants and their families from around the world who would enthusiastically share it, if they knew where to find it.

Debbie Bachman from Bouyant Buddies shows why she paddles on a whiteboard at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune tent Saturday, October 25 during the 2014 Dragon Boat Festival at Nathan Benderson Park. (October 25, 2014) (Herald-Tribune staff photo by Rachel S. O'Hara)

Debbie Bachman from Bouyant Buddies shows why she paddles on a whiteboard at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune tent Saturday, October 25 during the 2014 Dragon Boat Festival at Nathan Benderson Park.
(October 25, 2014) (Herald-Tribune staff photo by Rachel S. O’Hara)

View the online Dragon Boat section here.

Follow Katy on Twitter @KatyBergen

Smart use of a variety of digital tools to cover an international dragon boat festival. Reporter Katy Bergen and the newspaper did it all on a special website: blogs, tweets, video, drone aerial view of fireworks, Instagram photos, a whiteboard for readers at a festival booth. The energy reflected in this entry makes it a winner.