College & University Awards

Second Place

RYERSON UNIVERSITY –Jelena Djurkic

Sometimes quality of writing isn’t enough on its own. A feature subject should be interesting and Jelena Djurkic chose wisely. Again, this is an education which speaks to the always fascinating ability of individuals to use their unique talent to the betterment of complete strangers.

Judge

Paul Rellinger

Paul Rellinger is one of just two present day-one employees of Peterborough This Week, having moved to the city in August 1989. Since then, he has served as Managing Editor and, more recently, as Special Projects Editor and lead entertainment writer as well as writer of a weekly column, People ‘n’ Places, for which he has received multiple Ontario newspaper writing excellence awards. Paul and his wife Mary have three grown children – Paul Jr., Peter and Laura, and two grandsons, Landon and Hudson – and make their home in southeast Peterborough.

First Place

LOYALIST COLLEGE – Meagan Leonard

Kudos to Meagan Leonard for tackling a subject not broached often, if at all, and giving a lifestyle that is frightening to many a human face which, of course, breeds understanding and tolerance. Well done!

Third Place

LOYALIST COLLEGE –Steve Pettibone

For hockey fans, the only thing better than playing hockey is reading about the pure joy and camaraderie of the game as experienced by those who play it socially. I saw myself in these guys – and that is the best reader experience one can have. Better still, non-hockey fans would still find something in Steve Pettibone’s story in the form of passion for time spent with friends.

GENERAL COMMENT – The quality of writing and attention to detail in each of these entries was very good, making for a thoroughly enjoyable judging experience but also an extremely difficult final decision. That’s not to mention the accompanying art, be it photographs, graphics or art. I found most of the layouts highly visually appealing, which really grabs the eye and keeps it there. Generally, where points were lost was due to a lack of secondary sources and, in some cases, predictability as where the story was going. Two of the winning entries – by Meagan Leonard and Jelena Djurkic – educated by tackling subjects not nearly broached enough while Steve Pettibone’s subject – men’s pick-up hockey – simply entertained. If we’re not educating readers, we should be entertaining them. If you can do both, bonus.

Jeff Morris

Judge

Jeffrey Morris is the publisher and managing editor of the Manotick Messenger and Barrhaven Independent. The Messenger and Independent have won numerous OCNA awards in the past five years, while Morris was the OCNA Humour Columnist of the Year in 2005, and the OCNA Columnist of the Year and OCNA Stephen Shaw Reporter of the Year Award winner in 2008. In 2009, he was runnerup for the Stephen Shaw Reporter of the Year Award, and he won a CCNA Award for Best Local Editorial.

First Place

RYERSON UNIVERSITY – Jelena Djurkic

Jelena Djurkic “Making the walk of shame more comfortable” Jelena Djurkic offered a well-written, thorough and relevant piece about a Ryerson grad who made an impact on CBC’s Dragon’s Den. The use of her photos and sidebar enhanced the presentation of an already outstanding piece.

Second Place

LOYALIST COLLEGE –

Melissa Tait

Melissa Tait “Community struggles to cope”

Melissa Tait writes a strong piece in the aftermath of the death of Jessica Lloyd and the arrest of Col. Russell Williams.

Third Place

CENTENNIAL COLLEGE –

Aileen Donnelly

Aileen Donnelly “Life sentence for E.Y. man who shot wife”

Aileen Donnelly wrote a thorough, wellwritten and detailed account of a man receiving a life sentence after finally admitting he intentionally shot his estranged wife.

GENERAL COMMENT – There were some very well-written pieces that did not crack the top three either because of the subject matter and its relevance to their readership, or because of a lack of depth in sources. Most of the stories were engaging, though some of the better stories offered more of a hook to readers in the first two or three paragraphs.

Sponsored by Ontario Journalism Educators Association

JUDGE Graham Paine

A photojournalist for 30 years, most of those as a staff photographer with Metroland Media Group, over his career he has also freelanced for daily newspapers and magazines. Graham is a four-time OCNA Photographer of the Year recipient.

First Place

LOYALIST COLLEGE – Adam Gagnon

The first place entry by Adam Gagnon captured the emotion of family members overcome with grief at a repatriation ceremony. The lack of color didn’t detract from the entry, however tighter cropping and better play would have added to an already stellar image.

Second Place

ALGONQUIN COLLEGE –Lucas Timmons

The second place image by Lucas Timmons, really showcased the agony of defeat, good play and color added to the entry.

Third Place

LOYALIST COLLEGE –Bryanna Bradley

The third place entry by Bryanna Bradley, captured the emotional farewell at a funeral,tighter cropping would be the only comment, on another great image.

GENERAL COMMENT – There were many good entries in this class, however the top five entries really stood out, with the top three finalists separated by only three points. Making the judging even more difficult was the fact that news, feature and sports were all combined in the same category.

Judge

Cheryl Wirch-Ryckman

Cheryl Wirch-Ryckman has over 20 years experience in publishing. Cheryl began agency-side before moving across the country to work with Black Press, first on the print side and then moving to the Digital division as the company evolved their online strategy, moving from Director of Marketing to Director of Operations. Working closely with over 80 online publications, Cheryl was provided with a unique opportunity to grow the online audience from virtually the ground up and experienced first-hand the exciting changes and challenges of online publishing. Cheryl is currently independently consulting to provide local businesses with online advice.

First Place

Loyalist College

QNetNews.ca is an impressive step forward for Loyalist College. Live interactive coverage of events, video, and photogalleries are just some of the enhancements on this exciting new site. Along with the new norms of RSS and sharing, QNetNews.ca has also integrated comments, calendar and streeters to engage local readers. Along with driving readers, the site is driving revenue with a prominent online banner on the site.

Second Place

Ryerson University

The Ryersonian was a pleasure to peruse. The articles and headlines were engaging and the clean design was inviting. There was a harmonious flow between the articles and the technolsogy so that neither intruded on the other but instead strengthened the overall result.

Third Place

Algonquin College

The Algonquin Times couples well-written articles with a clean design. The home page uses some interesting online tools to drive readership while maintaining a quick load. Social media integration is brought to the forefront with their twitter feed on their home page while the footer contains useful links to the college and student associations.