8th Annual Webby Awards

Two days ago, the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS) announced the winners of the 8th Annual Webby Awards honoring excellence on the Internet. The IADAS, or Academy, consists of 480 members who select the nominees and winners for awards in 30 categories.

Looking over the 30 categories, a few things stood out immediately. One is that I lacked familiarity with a good portion of the nominees and winners. I thought this was odd since I've been a frequent on-line interested participant of the Internet from the very beginning. Could it be that maybe I'm less informed than I thought or am I missing something?

After further study, I realized that I'm missing something. To wit, two of the five nominees for excellence in news reporting were Al Jazeera and the BBC. The members of the Academy picked the BBC to win. The other three news organization nominees were National Geographic, the Smoking Gun, and Rocket News. Being somewhat of a news hound, I was struck by the fact that I probably wouldn't have considered any of those five in listing the top Internet news organizations. The BBC has to be read with a keen eye to the leftist bias, Al Jazeera spews the Islamic party line, National Geographic and the Smoking Gun are limited in scope, and Rocket News is from Canada where a large portion of the population thinks they're French and everything leans left.

To further support the fact that I don't understand the Webby Award process was their selection of HealthOntario.com as the award winner in the Government and Law category. I guess HealthOntario was selected because it is an initiative of the provincial government of Ontario. But that's it. One would be hard pressed to look at the website and find any mention of government OR law. You'll find information on avoiding mosquitoes, getting rid of mold, and treating migraines but no "government" and no "law." Now, I have not formed an opinion about HealthOntario.com other than to notice that it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the category in which it was given the award for excellence in 2004.

A strong clue about my apparent lack of understanding was provided when I reviewed the list of judges for the Webby Awards. This compilation of people and organizations includes strong representation from the entertainment industry, the elite media, academia, feminist organizations, environmental groups, and public radio. I'm sure that I could find some conservative representation somewhere in the mix of judges, but, on quick review, they're hidden by the preponderance of liberals. Since it appears that liberalism is a predominant characteristic among the judges, the choices of the Academy make some sense. I shouldn't wonder why the lists of nominees and winners are devoid of any of my particular favorites.

Based upon my review and quick analysis of the Webby Awards, it seems there is an easily identifiable liberal bias. To me, that makes getting the award somewhat less special.