Stearns works for Free Press as the journalism and public media campaign director and began documenting the arrests in September when a TV reporter was jailed in New York City.
Storify describes his story, which has been viewed more than 14,500 times, as "an effort that evolved over weeks and months, preserving what would otherwise be lost in the social media flood."
Incredibly honored to win @Storify of the year. Please follow & support the amazing journalists who've been arrested: mobile.twitter.com/jcstearns/jour…— Josh Stearns (@jcstearns) December 29, 2011
Since launching into public beta in April, Storify has allowed professional and citizen journalists to take content from various social networks -- such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and Instagram -- and plop everything into one interactive post that can be embedded onto other websites.
Stearns filled his story with links to news articles, videos, photos, quotes and resources for journalists. The story edged out others from Reuters social media editor Anthony De Rosa (2011 Timeline of Protest, Revolution and Uprising) and SMH reporter Glenda Kwek (Riots in the UK).
Storify announced the winner Thursday in a blog post, which of course included a Storify (see below).