The first Google/Sciences Po School of Journalism Prize for Innovation in Journalism has been awarded.

The winners are the “Villeneuve 5/5” and “Faux Facebook of the Woerth-Bettencourt Affair” projects.

Organised by Google and the Sciences Po School of Journalism, this annual prize is awarded to one journalism student from a recognised program and one professional journalist. It recognises an innovative use of Web technologies in the service of quality information.

In the “Students” category, the Villeneuve 5/5 project by Florent Bouchardeau, Fatna, Messaouida, Arthur Bayon, Yslande Bossé, Julie Gaulon, Batiste Kolenc, Elodie Castelli and Emilie Perez of the Grenoble School of Journalism is an interactive story in five acts on the La Villeneuve quarter in Grenoble. The area experienced riots in 2010 and was chosen by Nicolas Sarkozy as the backdrop for his speech on security that very summer. “In Villeneuve 5/5 there is a real journalistic commitment to fact-checking, combined with an ingenious use of tools and formats available for free on the Net,” according to the jury.

In the “Professionals” category, the jury awarded Grégoire Fleurot and Cécile Dehesdin, journalists at Slate.fr, pour the “Faux Facebook of the Woerth-Bettencourt Affair.” They created a fake Facebook news-stream using real elements of this affair. The jury found that “it incorporates a skilful narrative, which consists of using a Facebook tool to create an editorial format.”

The jury comprised :

- Alice Antheaume, Sciences Po School of Journalism
- Jean-Marie Colombani, Founder of Slate.fr
- Jean-Marc Manach, Journalist at Owni, author of the Bug Brother blog
- Thibaud Vuitton, deputy editor-in-chief, continuous news, France Télévisions
- Pascale Robert Diard, journalist at Le Monde and author of the blog Chroniques judiciaries