Premier Awards

Judge

Second Place

LINDSAY

POST

Very interesting story of the arts in prison. Visually it was laid out in an interesting way and the story was strong.

Kelly Clemmer

Kelly is the Editor-in-Chief for Star News Inc. in Wainwright, Alberta. Star News operates two award-winning weeklies, the Wainwright Star and the Wainwright Edge. Kelly has been with the Wainwright newspapers since 1999 and has been editor since 2001. Kelly is also the co-author of the book, 13 Ways to Kill Your Community.

First Place

RICHMOND HILL/THORNHILL LIBERAL

Beautiful story and nice photo to accompany. Interesting background and very well written. I only wish the page was more visually appealing.

Third Place

TORONTO MID-TOWN TOWN CRIER

The “You Think You Can Dance” story was well written and interesting to see it from the dancer’s perspective. Visually well done as well, which helped this entry get into the top three.

GENERAL

Comment

– It’s obvious that the member newspapers in the OCNA are writing plenty about the arts and I think that for the most part, they are all doing a good job. Layout can be so important to transcend a good story into a great one, and a little extra work can make the story pop off the page.

Judge

Second Place

Vaughan Today

Runner-up goes to ‘Buddies in booze’ by Alexis Dobranowski. Fun, breezy but a real success story that’s told effortlessly and with a great headline that reflects the tone of the story perfectly.

Glenn Mitchell

Glenn is managing editor of the Vernon Morning Star and former director of the B.C. Press Council. He has been in the community newspaper industry for 25 years

First Place

Peterborough This Week

The grim cleaners is a wonderfully written piece by Lauren Gilchrist that shows business writing truly can be anything but dull. Her first-person account of Crime & Trauma Scene Cleaners Inc. is as informative as it is interesting and colourful, with more than a touch of a sense of humour. Well done and even brave on everyone’s part.

Third Place

Parry Sound North Star

And third place goes to ‘Welcome to (town name)’ trademarked by Stephanie Johnson which reveals the frustration and silliness that can result from the Internet, trademarks and lawsuits when they intersect.

GENERAL COMMENT – There were also some very good research pieces on investment ripoffs and businesses gone bust and their aftermath. Some other good features as well but too many times the lack of a real dedication to business stories in the newspaper was reflected in the quality of entries. Many papers would benefit from a dedicated business section every week, which, admittedly can be difficult to do, but when you think of how important the economy is to a community, is definitely worth the effort.

Andrew Holota

Judge

Andrew Holota is the editor of the Abbotsford News. As well, he is the regional editorial manager for Black Press Lower Mainland, which involves various training and development initiatives for the editorial staff of the group’s 20 community newspapers. A journalist with more than 30 years of experience, Andrew has been the recipient of numerous continental, national and provincial awards during his newspaper career.

First Place

AJAX/PICKERING NEWS ADVERTISER

Racism, whether covert or blatant as it was in this case, is an issue that affects everyone. Steve Houston writes elegantly about the issue, its impact on the community and society as a whole, and challenges readers to think and act.

Second Place

Elmirawoolwich Observer

A pay hike of nearly 50 percent for councillors should be a soft lob for any editorial writer, and Steve Kannon puts this one over the fence. A wellwritten, strong stand that chastises the optics of such an initiative, and makes a further compelling argument against automatic pay increases.

Third Place

Oshawa This Week

Again, Steve Houston uses clear reasoning and nononsense statements to take council to task over a poorly conceived administrative policy. A clean, strong editorial.

Second Place

NUNAVUT NEWS/NORTH

A solid subject with real life and death consequences, well explained, and plenty of detail. Not as smooth a read as the first place winner, but still an excellent editorial.

Judge

Ryan Dahlman

Ryan Dahlman is the managing editor of the Prairie Post and Prairie Post West and is based in Medicine Hat, Alberta. The two papers combined have a circulation region from the B.C./ Alberta border all the way and including Swift Current in southwest Saskatchewan. The two papers reach nearly 40,000 households. Dahlman has been managing editor of Prairie Post from 2000 to the present. Prior to that, he was a reporter at the Taber Times and Vauxhall Advance for four years and an editor for less than a year before moving on to Medicine Hat as the Prairie Post reporter for about a year. He has earned three, top-three finishes in editorial writing in the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspapers Association including a first place in 2007 and a second place in 2009. He works with a Prairie Post team which has won not only SWNA awards, but numerous Canadian Community Newspaper Association awards as well.

First Place

Winchester Press

Excellent editorial. Balanced in detail, looks at both sides. A smooth read and well laid out.

Third Place

Creemore Echo

It rambles a little and could’ve been trimmed by a 100-200 words, especially the sanctimonious parts, but kudos for having a lot of teeth. Not easy to do when the paper is in a smaller centre.

GENERAL COMMENT – First and second place were clear cut, but there were many which could’ve finished third. Elmira, Gravenhurst, St. Marys, Parry Sound North Star, Minto, Minden and especially a well written Huntsville were all right there. While what are important are the style, detail, well-explained stance, and the impact of the editorials on their communities, many papers would be advised to look at redesigning their editorial pages.