Winner couldn't afford Online News awards

This is (probably) the final follow to the Online News Association conference that was held here last week. I noted earlier that the entry fee of $499, among the highest in the business, kept out many bloggers and other non-traditional practitioners of online journalism. Turns out, one of those excluded was Howard Owens, the director of the Ventura County Star website that was honored for general excellence in the ONA awards. He had to hear about it later. Owens, an ex-blogger, is interviewed by Mark Glaser at the Online Journalism Review. Also, OJR Editor Robert Niles reviews some websites he discovered at the conference.