President’s Message

Spring has finally arrived, and with it the time has come to honour the great work of Ontario’s weekly community newspapers.

The pandemic has made this year a difficult one, with some offices closed and staff working from home, but we persevere. For the second year, we have had to cancel our in-person celebrations. But we will celebrate nonetheless, just in a different way, with the hopes that soon we will be able to join our peers for a handshake and a congratulations.

The 2020 Better Newspapers Competition received over 1,450 entries, showcasing the hard work and dedication the publishers, editors, reporters, photographers, designers and others do each and every day to hold their newspapers to the highest standards. Just a quick look at the entries, and you will agree that Ontario’s community newspapers have some very talented staff.

With all the challenges and upheaval this year, our newspapers made covering both the pandemic and marginalized communities a priority. For this reason, two new categories were created: Best Covid-19 Coverage and Diversity Coverage, both informing their communities of the challenges and successes of these issues.

We have a lot of people to thank for the success of this awards program.

Thank you to the judges who, after a full week of putting their own papers to press, spent their free time examining the entries and shared their thoughts and wisdom to help make our program a success.

Thank you to the category sponsors for their generous support, enabling us to highlight the accomplishments of our members.

A big thank you to Ontario Power Generation, our Gold Awards Gala sponsor, for continuing their support, even though we are again unable to celebrate together.

And a final thank-you to the staff of Ontario’s weekly community newspapers whose dedication, talent, and resourcefulness we celebrate today.

Congratulations to all the winners!

John Willems President Ontario Community Newspapers Association

General Excellence Awards