This is the weekend edition of TheMarioBlog and will be updated as needed. The next blog post is Monday, October 16.

Learning from the best often means taking a look at winners in various competitions. One of my favorites is the WAN IFRA World Digital Media Awards, which were recently presented in Berlin. Take a few minutes to look at these and you will soon realize that there is much we can learn from their approach.

This year’s winners are:

1. Best News Website: The Guardian News and Media, United Kingdom

Project: http://www.theguardian.com/

2. Best in Lifestyle, Sports or Entertainment Website: The New York Times, USA

Project: Rio Olympics website – The New York Times created a microsite for their broad coverage of the Rio games that included a vast array of content – text, images, graphics, videos and more – covering all aspects of the event.

https://www.nytimes.com/news-event/rio-olympics-2016

3. Best Use of Online Video including Virtual Reality: Guardian News and Media, United Kingdom

Project: 6×9: A virtual experience of solitary confinement – 6×9, the Guardian’s first virtual reality experience, put the viewer inside a US solitary confinement prison cell to illustrate the psychological damage that can be caused when a person spends an extended amount of time in isolation.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2016/apr/27/6×9-a-virtual-experience-of-solitary-confinement

4. Best Data Visualisation: South China Morning Post, HongKong

Project: Belt and Road Initiative – There are many projects being set up as part of the One Belt One Road initiative that are instigating an infrastructure building-boom across Central Asia and into Europe as well as Southeast Asia and the east coast of Africa.

http://multimedia.scmp.com/news/china/article/One-Belt-One-Road/

5. Best News Mobile Service: (Tie) Media24 South Africa and Arte Radio Televisivo Argentina SA

Projects: News24 Edge is the personalised news app from South African online publication News 24. With content pulled from News24.com’s business, leisure, and lifestyle brands, the app allows users to choose the lifestyle areas that they’re most interested in, while continuing to deliver daily breaking news.

and

TN Todo Noticias New Mobile Apps – Aiming to create a new and better mobile experience for its viewers, Todo Noticias, one of Argentina’s leading TV news channels, launched a native mobile app focused on breaking news and live video.

6. Best Lifestyle, Sports or Entertainment Mobile Services: WeMedia01 Ltd., Hong Kong

Project: 01 run together@Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon

7. Best Innovation New Product: Grupo América, Argentina

Project: UNO: Argentina’s first native mobile media. Designed for millennials, it’s a Grupo América spin-off (grupoamerica.com.ar). UNO produces specific content for each platform (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Medium, Twitter, Taringa!, etc), and focuses on audiovisual: short videos, animated GIF, illustrations and memes. It also publishes original video content each day, producing more than 80 videos per month.

*Take a look at branded content as the only advertising here.

8. Best in Social Media Engagement: Grupo América, Argentina

Same as above.

9. Best Digital Advertising Campaign including Branded Content: Aller Media AS, Norway

Project: www.KK.no – The oldest women’s title in Norway, www.KK.no , won with a visually compelling full-screen approach.

10. Best Innovation to Engage Youth Audiences: Star Media Group Berhad, Malaysia

Project:

R.AGE, the youth section of a major newspaper in Malaysia, decided to get rid of their print section in order to produce in-depth, investigative web documentaries.

Paris: The free newspaper

Riding the Paris Metro each day this week I have seen a couple of commuters reading a copy of the small format (quarter fold) newspaper, CNews Matin. 

It is a free newspaper, about 16 pages, but not many commuters grab it from the stands as they board the train. As you guessed it, the majority of these commuters, of all ages, are looking at the screens of their telephones.  The view not much different from riding the subway in New York City, or London, or Buenos Aires.

  A Cover we Like

Selecting the right photo and editing it effectively, convey the meaning of this cover story for TIME Magazine on the spot.