Best of CASE District II Award
 

Institution: Cornell University

Title of entry: The Mystery of the Mummified Bird

About this entry: This story centered on a unique project involving a mummified bird in Cornell's collections, which a graduate student in archeology set out to identify and exhibit with help from researchers in Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine, Lab of Ornithology, College of Engineering and Johnson Museum of Art. (They even partnered with the graduate student Big Red Brewing Club to design an Ancient Egyptian-themed beer.)
When a Cornell Chronicle writer learned about the project from a previous source, he realized it exemplified Cornell's spirit of inquiry and radical collaboration. He partnered from the outset with a video producer, and they returned several times at different stages of the project over the course of the semester, to ultimately tell complementary stories in compelling narrative formats. The New Media team created a fun Instagram quiz to bring in more readers and viewers, and Media Relations crafted a focused pitch to selected top-tier outlets.
The package was highly successful, with nearly triple the Chronicle's average number of unique page views for the story and video. Media Relations earned prominent placement in CNN and Smithsonian Magazine, and a photo from the story was recognized as a top science photo of the month by Nature; recognition that advanced Cornell's reputation for cross-disciplinary innovation.