The finalists for the 2002 Online Journalism Awards came out today. They are listed here. The winners will be announced during the Online News Association's third annual conference in New York City Oct. 18-19, 2002.

The awards are presented by the Online News Association & the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. They honor "Excellence in English-language Web Journalism Worldwide" and have categories for sites with user hits under 200,000 per month and over 200,000 per month.

Bloggers take note:

Congratulations to James Tarranto and Best of the Web for its selection as a finalist in the Online Commentary category. It is the one category that is not divided into affiliated and independent media.

"This category honors a body of work by a single writer for commentary original to the Web. (Print syndication after Web posting does not disqualify an entry.) Topics can range from news commentary to essays, reviews, criticism, opinion and humor. The writer should display an original voice, freshness of insight and clear writing. Creative use of the medium will be considered. "

The nomination forms for next year will come out in July, 2003.