The Online News Association selected FRONTLINE for its 2012 General Excellence Award for Online Journalism for small websites this weekend.

“FRONTLINE has a long tradition of digital journalism dating back to 1995,” said FRONTLINE Executive Producer David Fanning. “With last year’s redesign, and the tremendous efforts on the part of our digital department, we’ve launched into a new space. It’s terrific to be recognized for our efforts along side our partners and peers in the industry for the hard work we have done.”

The award commended the site for “thorough reporting and engaging design.” ProPublica and NYTimes.com also received awards for general excellence in their categories.

“Over the past year, FRONTLINE has made a significant push to extend our traditional hard-hitting accountability journalism to the digital space,” said Deputy Executive Producer Raney Aronson-Rath. “We are so pleased to have the hard work of our digital team recognized by our peers, especially in a field with such terrific competition.”

The ONA, a nonprofit membership group, is the only organization dedicated to awarding excellence in digital journalism. Awards were selected by a panel of 35 journalists and new media professionals.

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