The Baltimore Sun won an Online Journalism Award Saturday for Matthew Hay Brown's 2013 article, "Breaking the Silence," about American servicemen who were sexually assaulted while serving in the military.
Women in uniform are more likely to be sexually assaulted than men. But because there are many more men than women in the military, there are more assaults against men than against women. And when the victim is a man, Brown's reporting showed, a perpetrator is far less likely to be punished.
The Baltimore Sun's online presentation — which included videos, graphics and interactive elements — was honored in the explanatory reporting, medium category at the Online News Association's annual conference in Chicago. A ProPublica presentation about the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education also won in the same category.
Other Sun staffers who shared in the award include web designers Greg Kohn and Adam Marton, videographer Christopher T. Assaf and data developer Patrick Maynard, among others.
Founded in 2000, the Online Journalism Awards are the "only comprehensive set of journalism prizes honoring excellence in digital journalism, focusing on independent, community, nonprofit, major media and international news sites," according to the Online News Association.