Premier Award ~ WRITING

Wendy Elliott

Judge

Wendy Elliott has been a reporter, editor and columnist for over 30 years. Writing for The Kings County Advertiser in western Nova Scotia, she has picked up regional and national awards for Best Columnist and Best Series.

Second Place

NEWMARKET ERA-BANNER –Debora Kelly

Debora Kelly looks at a variety of topics, but the reader can tell they have vitality for her because of her strong writing skills. She held my interest right to the end.

First Place

OTTAWA HILL TIMES – Tom Korski

Tom Korski has an excellent command of his facts and thoughtful opinions. His issues should matter to most Canadians and his writing is well crafted. Bravo!

Third Place

NUNAVUT NEWS/ NORTH –Harry Maksagak

Kudos to Harry Maksagak who cannot be writing in his first language. His column on crowded housing is extremely powerful. Harry has first hand knowledge and conveys his views well.

GENERAL COMMENT – Competitors have a very tough row to how in this class because there are some excellent writers sending in their best work. It might be better to submit two strong columns rather than throw in a third weaker one. Remember judges come from other provinces, therefore very localized columns are hard to relate to. Feature stories with photos and history pieces are not columns. Columns should appear on one page and not be turned.

Second Place

DUNDAS STAR NEWS –Craig Campbell

I chose Mr. Campbell for second place for his series on secretive police budgets. This reporter refused to give up. His persistence lead to change in his community to how police budgets are reported.

Judge

Paula Levy

Paula Levy is a reporter and photographer with The Bridgewater Bulletin and The Progress Enterprise in Nova Scotia. She is a national and regional award winner with 20 years experience.

First Place

OSHAWA

THIS WEEK - Jillian Follert

Ms. Follert is a leading example of how to tell all sides of one story. She could have only reported on the efforts of residents who were attempting to take their street back from drug addicts and prostitutes. But she looked beneath the surface and explored issues of poverty and lack of housing – both are factors keeping prostitutes on the streets. Well done!

Third Place

WATERDOWN FLAMBOROUGH REVIEW –Catherine O’Hara

Ms. O’Hara went beyond the rehearsed comments from official spokespeople. She gave everyone involved in the story fair opportunity to tell their side of the story. She maintained balanced throughout... the hallmark of good journalism.

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Second Place

YORK

GUARDIAN

The face painting photograph demands your attention with its excellent cropping. We don’t need to see anymore to be drawn into this picture.