News21 Transportation Safety Series Published as e-Book

An investigative series on the dangers of traveling in America is now available in e-book form.

The series, “Breakdown: Traveling Dangerously in America,” was produced by Carnegie-Knight News21 fellows working at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

The students from 11 universities produced dozens of stories, graphics, photos and videos that detail the shortcomings of the government safety system designed to protect people who travel by air, boat, rail or car.

The project was reported in collaboration with the Washington-based Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit investigative journalism organization, and major portions were published by The Washington Post and msnbc.com.

Eleven student journalists traveled to nine states, the District of Columbia, Mexico and Canada, talked to hundreds of officials, industry leaders, safety experts and victims and analyzed thousands of pages of documents, reports and accident and investigation data from the National Transportation Safety Board and federal regulatory agencies. Their project won several awards, including the 2011 Investigative Reporters and Editors student national computer-assisted reporting contest.

The e-book version of the project, published in e-pub and Amazon format, is optimized for long-form reading and viewing on a tablet or e-reader device, said Cronkite Associate Dean Kristin Gilger, who led the News21 project. Readers can annotate and bookmark the publication for their convenience and reference.

Gilger said the e-publication would enable the project to reach and benefit a wider audience.

“This is the first time we’ve published student-produced material in e-book format, but I’m sure it won’t be the last,” Gilger said. “Part of what we do at the Cronkite School, and part of what we teach students, is to continually think about new ways to reach audiences with quality journalism.”

The e-publication is downloadable through the Amazon Kindle store and also via a link on the News21 national website. It is also expected to be available soon via the iTunes Bookstore on the iPad or iPhone.

News21 is a program of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to encourage excellence and innovation in the teaching of college journalism. The program is headquartered at the Cronkite School. Participating schools include ASU, Columbia University, Harvard University, Northwestern University, Syracuse University, University of California at Berkeley, University of Maryland, University of Missouri at Columbia, University of Maryland, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, University of Southern California and University of Texas at Austin.

Stories done by News21 students in 2010 received numerous awards, including:

ASSOCIATION FOR EDUCATION IN JOURNALISM & MASS COMMUNICATION
BEST OF THE WEB 2011
Individual Journalism
• First place: “The Unseen,” University of Southern California

Team Innovation
• Second place: “Powering a Nation,” North Carolina

Team Journalism
• Third place: “Chesapeake: Bay on the Brink,” University of Maryland

SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS MARK OF EXCELLENCE FINALISTS NATIONAL AWARDS
Online In-Depth Reporting
• National winner: “Apart From War,” Syracuse University

REGION 1 (Northeast)
Online In-Depth Reporting
• First place: “Apart From War,” Syracuse University

REGION 2 (Mid-Atlantic)
Online News Reporting
• Second place: “Splitting Main Street,” University of North Carolina
• Third place: “Power Play,” University of North Carolina

REGION 11 (West)
Feature Writing
• Second Place: “Trapped in Violence,” ASU

Online In-Depth Reporting
• Second place: “Dealing With the Dead,” ASU
• Third place: “The Women,” ASU

Online News Reporting
• Second place: “Driving While Tired,” National News21

HEARST AWARDS
• Second Place, In-Depth Reporting: “Operation Streamline,” ASU
• Third place, Multimedia News: “Crime Rates,” ASU
• Fifth place, Multimedia Reporting: “Spilling Over,” University of North Carolina

HORIZON INTERACTIVE (Web Awards)
• Gold: “Powering a Nation,” University of North Carolina.
• Best in category: “Spilling Over,” University of North Carolina

INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF DIGITAL ARTS AND SCIENCES (Webby Awards)
• Official honoree, school/university: “Powering a Nation,” University of North Carolina

WORLD PRESS PHOTO
2011 Multimedia Contest (World Press)
• Second place, interactive multimedia: “Power Play,” University of North Carolina

BEST OF DIGITAL NEWS DESIGN (SND 2011)
Section/Topic Presentation, Professional Division
• Silver: “Powering a Nation,” University of North Carolina
Section/Topic Presentation, Under 50,000, Professional Division:
• Commendation, “Apart From War,” Syracuse University
Use of Multimedia, Student Division
• Commendation: “Powering a Nation,” University of North Carolina
• Commendation: “Apart From War,” Syracuse University
Information graphics, Student Division
• Commendation: “Jerry’s Cabin,” Syracuse University

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS AND EDITORS STUDENT NATIONAL COMPUTER-ASSISTED REPORTING CONTEST (IRE 2011)
Team Reporting
• Winner/presenter: “Traveling Dangerously in America,” National News21

COLLEGE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2010
Large Group Multimedia Project
• Gold: “Powering a Nation,” University of North Carolina
• Silver: “Apart From War,” Syracuse University