NewsNet, the BYU online newspaper, won the Editor and Publisher's EPpy award for best college newspaper online service.

Newsnet competed against international online publications. The award recipients ranged from the Washintonpost.com to Jerusalem Post Internet Edition.

Thirty judges representing 12 countries and four continents judged approximately 1400 entries over a two-month period to nominate three finalists in each category at the fourth annual EPpy Awards.

The results were announced Friday night at an awards banquet in Atlanta, Ga.; Chair of the Communications Department Dr. Laurie Wilson accepted the award for BYU.

"(The award) was validating for us by showing us that we are heading in the right direction. It has been a difficult painful process for the students and faculty involved, but by using the Web as the core, we can see we are doing it right," Wilson said.

"This is a real distinction and honor to be judged the best college newspaper online for our group at NewsNet. It is evidence that we are moving our journalism program in the right direction," Dean of College of Fine Arts and Communication Bruce Christensen said.

NewsNet has submitted the Web site the last two years in the international competition, though there was never a college newspaper online service award.

Managing Director of NewsNet John Gholdston said NewsNet is pioneering in the communications industry with the integrated newsroom. He said many industries are just realizing this and will take a while to catch up.

"We have been told by doubting Thomases that this couldn't be done, and this (award) affirms not only can it be done but foreword thinkers acknowledge it is the wave of the future," Gholdston said.

Gholdston explained the distinct characteristics of NewsNet that make it a very unique newsroom situation.

"The audience enjoys the fruit of the best attributes of each delivery system. The immediacy of radio, the compelling visual elements of television, the depth and the breadth of print and the bottomless newshole of the Web combine to bring to life a new creature, never before possible," Gholdston said.

Web advisor Scott Johnson said the content is what set NewsNet apart, and he attributes this to the students hard work.

"Technology is nice but all the bells and whistles in the world will not bring people back to our site. It is the solid writing that people come back for," Johnson said.

Johnson said user traffic to NewsNet has been drastically increasing. In September '97 the site had 6,000 users; last month there were 51,000 users and so far this month there have been more than 90,000 users.

The site is growing, it is really exciting to see the users expand outside of Utah. Surprisingly 75 percent of the traffic comes from outside Utah. Virginia is the state with the most users, said Johnson.

NewsNet Web editor Chris Onstott, 23, senior from The Dalles, Ore., majoring in print journalism, said he agrees that it is the integreted newsroom that sets NewsNet apart.

"There is no other newsroom in the country that has access to broadcast, print, and web stories all from the same newsroom in such a timely fashion," Onstott said.

The site utilizes custom, database-driven software developed by Johnson and BYU student Jym Mealey.

The entire list of EPpy winners can be seen at Editor & Publisher's Web site.