Winners and Finalists
Seven seasons and 16 winners. That is a short history of the Uutisraivaaja Media Innovation Challenge.
We introduce below the winners and finalists from the years 2010–2023.
2023:
The Uutisraivaaja jury decided to award funding to the following four projects:
Kaksi maailmaa (Two worlds), 35,100 euros
To encourage students to engage in critical thinking by developing a method where stories made by AI and stories made by a journalist can be compared with each other.
Demokraattinen toimitus, Rare ry, 50,000 euros
A journalistic method which involves the consumers of journalistic content in the story production process with social media technologies.
Street Magazine Rohee, 50,000 euros
Developing social media content to make the street magazine known all over the Tampere region as a trusted brand and medium.
Itä-Helsinki Media Oy (East Helsinki), 50,000 euros
Launching a local media outlet to provide journalistic content for the residents in East Helsinki region.
The funded projects have to be finalized and published by the end of May, 2024.
The Uutisraivaaja Innovation Challenge was organized for the seventh time. Altogether the contest attracted 23 applications.
From left: Mirkka Hietanen (Rohee), Hannele Huhtala (Rohee), Vilma Rimpelä (Rare), Liisa Yli-Ketola (Kaksi maailmaa), Orna Ben Lulu (Rare), Severi Romsi (Itä-Helsinki), Jan Huhtanen (Rare), Niko Pohjalainen (Itä-Helsinki), and Jenna Lehtonen (Itä-Helsinki). Photo: Ida Pimenoff
2021:
The Uutisraivaaja jury decided to award funding to the following five projects:
archi.tours: Virtual stories about architechture, created with the latest VR technology.
Caverna: Three short documentaries in a form of a hybrid between a fake documentary and a real one. Workshops about fake news for ninth graders in the Finnish comprehensive school.
The Pop-Up Newsroom for Algorithm Research: Algorithms: how do they work? A research & journalistic project.
Mono No Aware – the Pathos of Things: A five-minute-long virtual reality documentary about the deserted towns around the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in Japan.
4minread Lahti – local news media: Lahti area newsletter delivered to the reader by email.
Each project was awarded 30,000 euros.
The funded projects have to be finalized and published by the end of 2021.
The Uutisraivaaja Innovation Challenge was organized for the sixth time. Altogether the contest attracted 17 applications.
2019: RARE
Uutisraivaaja winner RARE 2019. From top left: Matias Rogers, Miikka Rekola, Atro Lamppu and Joona Muistola. From bottom left: Orna Ben Lulu, Vilma Rimpelä, Hilma Toivonen and Jan Huhtanen.
In 2019 the Uutisraivaaja Award 250,000 euros was granted to RARE.
RARE is a new media for the young by the young that brings journalistic content to where the youth are, in ways that they are used to consuming media. RARE produces journalism, for instance, to social media and has taken it into the form of public events. The work bases on the sustainable development goals.
The team includes Vilma Rimpelä, Orna Ben Lulu, Hilma Toivonen, Matias Rogers, Jan Huhtanen, Atro Lamppu, Miikka Rekola, Joona Muistola and Saara Tuominen.
Other finalists 2018–2019:
Comcom, real-time discussion platform for news sites
Diversity Meter, application and service for analyzing diversity in the media
Kansalaiskide, open co-creation of knowledge using knowledge crystals
Voconaut, mobile audio augmented reality solution
2017: Frameright and Tripsteri
The winning teams of 2017, Frameright and Tripsteri, with the judges.
In 2017 two winners were awarded in Uutisraivaaja. The 250,000 euros award was shared by Frameright and Tripsteri.
Tripsteri app is the first Finnish mobile application providing travel journalism which focuses on high quality and uses virtual technology. The winning team included Tuulia Kolehmainen, Paula Kultanen Ribas, Siru Valleala, Soile Vauhkonen, Panu Pahkamaa and Mika Vikström.
Frameright provides a solution to an internet-wide systemic problem in framing photographs. The Uutisraivaaja team included Marina Ekroos, Ilkka Järstä and Jaakko Hyvärinen.
Other finalists 2016–2017:
Aatos, production and delivery company for podcasts
Rolling Stories, inventor of moving multimedia platform called Roller
Streamia, online media specialized in streaming technology
2015: Lucify and Kuka
Uutisraivaaja winners 2015. From top left: team Kuka’s Tuomas Valtanen, Ville Vaara and Jaakko Nygren. From bottom left: team Lucify’s Juho Ojala and Ville Väänänen, team Kuka’s Iris Sandelin and Mari Vaara.
In 2015 the Uutisraivaaja Award 250,000 euros was shared by Lucify and Kuka.
Kuka is an expert search service that brings journalists and experts together. The original team included Mari Vaara, Iris Sandelin, Tuomas Valtanen, Jaakko Nygren and Ville Vaara.
Lucify helps organizations to visualize, understand and communicate important data with interactive data visualizations. The original team included Juho Ojala and Ville Väänänen.
Other finalists 2014–2015:
Bolla, video platform to teach football
Little Brother, application to protect journalists’ and photographers’ photos
Topicalio, local media for politics
2013: Long Play
Long Play in 2013. From top left: Hanna Nikkanen, Ilkka Karisto, Anu Silfverberg, Ilkka Pernu. From bottom left: Antti Järvi, Reetta Nousiainen, Johanna Vehkoo, Riku Siivonen.
In 2013 the digital publication of longform journalism, Long Play, won the Uutisraivaaja Award. The company is known for stories that are longer than magazine articles but shorter than books. The original team included Johanna Vehkoo, Reetta Nousiainen, Hanna Nikkanen, Anu Silfverberg, Riku Siivonen, Ilkka Pernu, Antti Järvi, Ilkka Karisto and Kimmo Hokkanen.
Other finalists 2012–2013:
Infogram, tools for data visualization
Born Local, inventor of hyper-local social media platform Nearhood.
On Display, mobile art gallery app
PalloPostia, news service for children
2011: Scoopinion
Scoopinion in 2011. From left: Mikko Koskinen, Juha Leppänen, Johannes Koponen and Ville Sundberg.
Scoopinion won the first-ever season of the Uutisraivaaja Media Innovation Challenge. The project was a browser ad-on that recommends quality articles for users. The team included Johannes Koponen, Mikael Koponen, Mikko Koskinen, Juha Leppänen and Ville Sundberg.
In the season 2010–2011, eleven teams in total made their way to the finalist phase.
The finalists included Eleet, Naapurisopu, Influence Networks, Collapick, Huuhkaja, Omaradio, Pogo, Knowshop, Pinchett (Murut), and Totuus ja valhe (Faktat oikein).
The previous winners and finalists have written about their experiences in the Uutisraivaaja blog.