The Online News Association announced finalists of this year's Online Journalism Awards, which honor exceptional work and innovation in digital journalism. Twelve judges from across new media nominated finalists in a range of categories. 

See the full list of this year's OJA finalists.

Twelve news outlets in three size categories won for General Excellence in Online Journalism. Each finalist won $5,000, regardless of the size of the organization.

The three small organization finalists were all nonprofit news organizations - MinnPost, Center for Public Integrity, and Texas Tribune. Medium size: Pro Publica, Mothe Jones, St. Louis Public Radio, and Quartz. Large: Los Angeles Times, NPR, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal.

Finalists in the categories receiving monetary awards include the Knight Award for Public Service, General Excellence in Online Journalism,  The University of Florida Award for Investigative Data Journalism, the Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award, and the Gannett Foundation Award for Technical Innovation in the Service of Digital Journalism. Prizes in these categories range from $4,000-$5,500 each.

Six projects were recognized for specific, deeper contributions with a Knight Award for Public Service. The Los Angeles Times covered earthquake preparedness in Southern California, analyzing the status and dependability of concrete buildings around LA. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinal track U.S. programs screening newborns, and where delays in catching rare diseases can be deadly. Other finalists: The Miami Herald, the Center for Investigative Reporting, ProPublica and The Boston Globe.

Some community and independent sites also received recognition:

Oakland's Police Beat was named a finalist in the small Explanatory Reporting category. Its ongoing work highlights and analyzes the activities of the Oakland Police Department through community-sourced data.

In the small Planned News Events category, The Texas Tribune's 31 Days, 31 Ways won for an August calendar's worth of stories highlighting how the lives of Texans will be affected by bills passed by the legislature on Sept. 1. 

As an independent, journalist and artist Susie Cagle (who offers her work on community crowdsourcing site Patreon) received recognition for her visual storytelling of how -- and where -- San Francisco's tech boom is creating socio-economic clashes and profits for the city. 

Winners will be selected from the group of finalists at the ONA Conference and Online Journalism Awards Banquet on Saturday, Sept. 27 in Chicago.