Best Front Page circ -9,999

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24 ENTRIES

pARRy SOUNd NORTH STAR

I like the variety on this broadsheet page, which employs a clean, logical design that guides the reader. The lead photo is strong, though, given the format, could be larger for greater impact.

fORT fRANCES TIMES

This front, which features strong lead and secondary photos, is so close to being excellent with a few small tweaks. Use the generous broadsheet real estate to insert more white space and more clearly delineate divisions between stories and photos using that space and, perhaps, rules/lines.

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GENERAL COMMENT dEEp RIVER NORTH RENfREw TIMES

Given the limited space on a tabloid front page, this one has plenty of impact: a strong photo even absent people, a solid lead story and a simple, powerful headline.

Judge

Richard Dal Monte

Freelance Editor and Writer former Editor The Tri-City News Port Coquitlam, BC

Richard Dal Monte worked in community newspapers in B.C. for 34 years – the last 19 years as editor of The Tri-City News – before his layoff and eventual termination during the early days of the pandemic in 2020. He has won more than 20 corporate, provincial, national, and international journalism awards individually and as a team leader. Most recently, amongst its six honours in the 2020 BCYCNA Ma Murray Awards, The Tri-City News was named best paper in its circulation category while Dal Monte won a silver award for editorial writing. He is also the recipient of a News Media Canada Silver Quill Award.

This is not a category blessed with strong entries. The broadsheets don’t make the best use of the real estate. The tabloids are often too packed with ads to give editorial any room to breathe. The writing and photography are inconsistent. I understand the challenges of producing a community paper with limited resources, but the front page is a paper’s face to its readers and extra attention should be paid to every element on it.