2012
BETTER NEWSPAPERS COMPETITION
AWARDS s t l u s e R
O C N A I S D E D I C AT E D T O E N A B L I N G C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R S T O P R O S P E R
Booklet Design & Layout by: Sylvie Tremblay
Better Newspapers Competition 2012 Results Table of Contents
President’s Message ............................................p 5 General Excellence Awards ................................p 6 General Excellence - circ 1,999 & under...........p 7 General Excellence - circ 2,000 - 3,499 ............p 8 General Excellence - circ 3,500 - 6,499 ............p 9 General Excellence - circ 6,500 - 12,499 ..........p 10 General Excellence - circ 12,500 - 22,499 ........p 11 General Excellence - circ 22,500 - 44,999 ........p 12 General Excellence - circ 45,000 & over ...........p 13 General Excellence - College & University ........p 14 Premier Awards ..................................................p 15 Arts & Entertainment ..........................................p 16 Best Business & Finance Story............................p 17 Best Editorial 10,000+ ........................................p 18 Best Editorial -9,999 ...........................................p 19 Education Writing...............................................p 20 Environment Ontario ..........................................p 21 Feature Writing 10,000+ ....................................p 22 Feature Writing -9,999 .......................................p 23 Health & Wellness..............................................p 24 Heritage ..............................................................p 25 Best Investigative News Story .............................p 26 Best News Story 10,000+ ...................................p 27 Best News Story -9,999 ......................................p 28 Best Rural Story 10,000+....................................p 29 Best Rural Story -9,999.......................................p 30 Best Feature/News Series 10,000+ .....................p 31 Best Feature/News Series -9,999 ........................p 32 Sports & Recreation Story...................................p 33 Humour Columnist of the Year ...........................p 34 Columnist of the Year .........................................p 35 Stephen Shaw Award for Reporter of the Year ....p 36 Editor of the Year.................................................p 37 Best Feature Photo 10,000+ ...............................p 38 Best Feature Photo -9,999 ..................................p 39
Best Photo Layout ...............................................p 40 Best Sports Photo ................................................p 41 Best Spot News Photo ........................................p 42 Best News Photo ................................................p 43 Photographer of the Year ....................................p 44 Cartoonist of the Year ........................................p 45 Community Service ............................................p 46 Best Vertical Product ..........................................p 47 Best Front Page 10,000+.....................................p 48 Best Front Page -9,999........................................p 49 Best Sports Section .............................................p 50 Special Section 10,000+ ....................................p 51 Special Section -9,999........................................p 52 Best Creative Ad .................................................p 53 In House Promotion ...........................................p 54 Local Retail Layout .............................................p 55 Original Ad Idea 10,000+ ..................................p 56 Original Ad Idea -9,999 .....................................p 57 Use of Process Colour ........................................p 58 Best Community Website/Webportal 10,000+...p 59 Best Community Website/Webportal -9,999......p 60 Online Special Project/Event/Breaking News Coverage .........................................................p 61 Surfer’s Selection 10,000+ ..................................p 62 Surfer’s Selection -9,999 .....................................p 63 College & University Awards..............................p 64 Student Feature Writing ......................................p 65 Student News Writing ........................................p 66 Student Photography ..........................................p 67 Best College/University Newspaper Website .....p 68 2012 Mary Knowles Award ................................p 69 Judging Grid .......................................................p 70 Judging Grid .......................................................p 71 OPG ...................................................................p 72 Sponsor Acknowledgements ..............................p 73
President’s Message With each passing year, the Better Newspapers Competition allows us to honour the great work of Ontario’s weekly community newspapers. This year, without exception, we are able to do just that. The competition provides the members of OCNA an opportunity to showcase their accomplishments, highlighting the hard work which goes into each and every edition of their newspaper. We, as always, would like to extend our appreciation to the volunteer judges who spend countless hours reading and re-reading your entries. And this after they have spent a full day (or more) putting their own newspapers to bed. Without their time & dedication to this competition, it would not exist. A huge thank you to all of you! We must not forget our sponsors, who make this competition possible through their generous donations. Thank you for allowing OCNA to highlight the accomplishments of our members! One final thank you to the staff of Ontario’s weekly community newspapers. Your dedication to holding our newspapers to the highest standards feed our communities knowledge, and allows them to flourish. OCNA received an amazing 2,014 entries for the 2012 competition, all of which deserve recognition. Congratulations to all our finalists for a job well done!
Mike Mount OCNA President 2012/13
2012 BNC Awards Results
5
GENERAL EXCELLENCE CLASSES 1 - 8
CIRCULATION
General Excellence – Class 1 Number of entries: 14
First Place
1,999 & UNDER
GRAVENHURST BANNER The front page of the Gravenhurst Banner demands attention. Above the fold, the reader is not only drawn to a large, well-played spot news photo, taken at nighttime, but a story about an interim CAO’s questionable salary that would surely raise more than a few eyebrows. The paper had a good arrangement of photos throughout the newspaper, making it very eye appealing. Nice local features. It was also refreshing to see such a lively editorial page, one that had a signed editorial, letters to the editor, and columns. It’s obvious this paper is well-regarded in the community.
Second Place BARRY’S BAY, THE VALLEY GAZETTE
GENERAL COMMENT The top papers in this category had active front pages, ones with dominant photos and headlines that pulled the readers in. The layout of the papers were uncomplicated and easy to navigate, with sections clearly labelled. One of the areas in which this entire class of newspapers can improve upon relatively easily in is the photography department. A lot of the photos were static shots; nothing more than simple grip-and-grins. There were very few spot news photos, and very few action shots that were in focus. You don’t have to have an expensive camera these days to take a decent shot. A few well-thought-out photos would drastically improve some of these papers. Many of the papers in this category either had too few photos, or far too many crammed on a page. There needs to be a balance.
Those designing the Valley Gazette’s Remembrance Day edition held nothing back as they went for a colourful front page collage. While collages can be hit and miss, this one was OK, and definitely eye-catching. The headline of the story below the fold made readers want to know what the ‘disturbing results’ were. Great production quality – it is nice to see so much colour on every page. One area where this paper could easily improve upon is not jumping the front page stories to the back of the paper. Nice layout of ads and good ad design. The paper looks clean and organized.
Third Place MINDEN TIMES The front pages of the Minden Times were simple yet effective. They weren’t afraid to run a large front page photo, and the sidebar index serves to further draw the reader in. They utilize it well with advertising – by the looks of it, it is a money maker. One area where this paper can improve is to cut back on excessive white space.
JUDGES Rob Vogt
Editor, Claresholm Local Press, Claresholm, Alberta
Laura Blackwell Publisher, Lakes District News, Burns Lake, BC
Carole Morris Underhill
Editor, Hants Journal, Windsor, Nova Scotia
2012 BNC Awards Results
7
General Excellence – Class 2 Number of entries: 10
CIRCULATION
First Place
2,000 - 3,499
WINCHESTER PRESS
The Winchester Press emerged as our consensus choice, and it was largely due to the old adage: first impressions matter. The front carried the Press above its peers, as did a strong collection of news. Good design for the ad department was evident. Greater attention to modular design and appropriate use of photos would have led to an easier selection as the best in this circulation category, but the news content alone was sufficient to boost the Press to its first-place standing.
Second Place KINCARDINE INDEPENDENT The Kincardine Independent had, in our mind, one of the best ad ideas of the batch, with its easter-egg colouring contest. The pictures in the Independent were above the standard of this class, which aided in the second-place selection. A better use of dividers for standalones, along with a better placement of photos in general (so that a man cooking pasta isn’t dropped beside a pair of unrelated obituaries, for example) is strongly suggested.
Third Place
GENERAL COMMENT It is the united opinion of the judges that all the offerings presented this year featured basic flaws in layout such as non-modular design, questionable photo selection and placement, excessive turns, and similar. Sports sections cried out for action photos, and many entries stacked ads against the spine of left-side pages, thus isolating news copy and making the paper hard to read. The judges, all of whom oversee similar-sized publications and thus understand the challenges of small-circulation products, strongly suggest greater training for young and/or small-market editors, and hopefully publishers will recognize the value in the resulting easier-to-read, easier-to-sell products.
BURKS FALLS ALMAGUIN NEWS The Burks Falls Almaguin News offering gained a consistent rating from the judges, which is a plus – and also sign for growth. We felt staff had a sense of news, but tried to force-feed a buffet of news on the reader, resulting in baffling and haphazard turns, rather than enticing the reader into the paper with one solid main dish, and limiting turns to one, maybe two, into easily-found, modular holes, on p. 2 or 3. We noted a more modular layout to the March issue. A more coherent photo selection policy and betterframed photos will help improve the paper’s standing – as will losing the Impact typeface!
JUDGES Vern Faulkner
Editor, Saint Croix Courier/ Courier Weekend, St. Croix, New Brunswick
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2012 BNC Awards Results
Keith McNiell Editor, Clearwater Times, Clearwater, BC
John Arendt
Editor, Summerland Review, Summerland, BC
General Excellence – Class 3 Number of entries: 8
CIRCULATION
First Place
3,500 - 6,499
EGANVILLE LEADER The Eganville Leader embodies what a good community newspaper should be. There’s unflinching coverage of hard news, a commitment to provide in-depth coverage to local issues and the occasional feature to provide insight and context. As one of the few independents left, kudos to publisher/owner Gerald Tracey for investing in beautiful paper stock which helps make the photos pop off the page. A solid effort throughout, from a strong front page to extensive quality coverage inside, supported with great ads.
Second Place HUNSTVILLE FORESTER The Huntsville Forester holds up a huge mirror to its community. The paper is chock-ablock full of news, providing a great service to readers who want to know what’s going on and community groups who want to share information about their events. The layout could be updated. Strong writing and photography, combined with numerous attractive ads make it an outstanding paper that provides readers with a quality product while doing a great job covering the community.
Third Place
GENERAL COMMENT
It was a pleasure to judge the newspapers in this category. Communities in Ontario are well served by these newspapers, each of which is doing an exemplary job of holding a mirror to their communities. Each paper produced an interesting mix of hard news, features, photos and opinion, packaged with display and classified advertising. Without exception, the papers in this category deliver to their readers a strong newspaper. However, it’s also important to keep in mind the needs of readers who, while needing that information, also turn to their community newspaper to provide insight and new perspectives. A few more features would be welcome! The papers that rose to the top of the competition exhibited a commitment to quality throughout the newspaper, beginning with strong, newsy front pages and continuing with extensive news and feature reporting, engaging opinion sections and interesting sports sections.
NUNAVUT NEWS/NORTH Spanning a few time zones in its coverage area, Nunavut News/North does an absolutely stellar job in challenging conditions. It has an excellent mix of hard news and feature stories supported by attractive, effective advertising. The paper should be proud of the quality of its writing. Casey Lessard’s coverage of a tragic fire is both wide in scope and sensitively done. Bravo to the paper for printing stories in two languages. A commendable investment!
JUDGES Frank McTighe
Editor & Publisher, The Macleod Gazette, Fort Macleod, Alberta
Martha Perkins Editor, WE Vancouver, Vancouver, BC
Joyce Carlson
Publisher, The Powell River Peak, Powell River, BC
2012 BNC Awards Results
9
General Excellence – Class 4 Number of entries: 15
CIRCULATION
First Place
6,500 - 12,499
OTTAWA HILL TIMES The Hill Times has solid design, making the most of a compact tabloid. Top points were awarded to this publication because of its impressive front pages, clean masthead, great looking info boxes, strong quality photos, innovative cropping and overall presentation. There is a diversity of political opinions represented within the publication, as well as some lighter entertainment offered on the Party Central pages. Room for improvement: too many turns on the front page (readers hate turns), and in my opinion, too many opinion pieces.
Second Place NIAGARA THIS WEEK, THE LEADER
GENERAL COMMENT It was a pleasure to review so many strong publications that embody their communities so admirably. However, this made the competition very difficult to judge as there were many great newspapers to pick from. It’s obvious that a great deal of hard work goes into these publications and most do an excellent job providing community news to their readers, many with a small staff to carry out those duties. One of our main concerns were the many stories in a lot of papers which were not attributed (no bylines on copy). Stories need attribution and photos need captions. It’s that simple. But the biggest thing was having to cut points to some outstanding publications for a lack of a sports section.
Niagara This Week, The Leader is community focused with loads of local content and a strong sports section. Masthead is a little cluttered, but the front page is clean looking with a layout that is reader friendly. Strong editorial, op-ed pages and lots of community news round the paper out nicely. The Leader is impressively thick with advertising, special features and classifieds.
Third Place NIAGARA THIS WEEK, TOWN CRIER Niagara This Week, Town Crier is a well-balanced community news publication that scored high in all categories. It has a good looking front page, strong info box. Like The Leader, lots of letters on the strong editorial and op-ed pages. Points were deducted because of stories without bylines along with the very high advertising content.
JUDGES John Morash
Publisher, Prince Albert Herald, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
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2012 BNC Awards Results
Lisa Joy
Multi-media Editor, Lacombe Globe, Lacombe, Alberta
Sponsored by METRO CREATIVE GRAPHICS
Carol Farnalls Publisher, Barrhead Leader, Barrhead, Alberta
CIRCULATION
General Excellence – Class 5 Number of entries: 16
First Place
12,500 - 22,499
ELMIRA-WOOLWICH OBSERVER The Elmira-Woolwich Observer offers a strong front page which stands out from the crowd. Excellent coverage of community news and a solid sports section with good photos round out the publichation nicely. It’s outstanding local features and an honest-to-god Arts section raises this paper above all others.
Second Place DUNDAS STAR NEWS
The excellent writing and tight editing of the Dundas Star News isn’t often seen in papers of this size. A nice, clean modular design, easy to read with good use of colour throughout. Recycled editorial from a sister paper on a pretty motherhood-and-apple-pie subject, but the letters to the editor section reflects a very intelligent and engaged community that the paper is obviously serving well. Nice local features. One downfall – too many grip-and-grins and cheque presentation photos.
Third Place RENFREW MERCURY EMC GENERAL COMMENT A strong category, and really all of the papers appear to be serving their communities well. Continue to have issues with the number of cheque presentation and grip-and-grin photos throughout all, and the lack of creativity this speaks of to the readers.
The Renfrew Mercury EMC has a great great editorial package, with editorial on local business that goes way beyond puffery. A nice front page, among the best layouts in the category, with a fabulous selection of local news. Could use tighter writing and editing. With a great sports section, catchy headlines and lots of colour throughout. This is a lovely paper all around.
JUDGES Carol Picard
Founder & Former Editor, Rocky Mountain Outlook, Canmore, Alberta
Kevin Weedmark
Editor & Publisher, The World-Spectator, Moosomin, Saskatchewan
John Barlow
Associate Publisher/ Editor, Okotoks Western Wheel, Okotoks, Alberta
2012 BNC Awards Results
11
General Excellence – Class 6
CIRCULATION
22,500 - 44,999
Number of entries: 20
First Place WHAT’S UP MUSKOKA First place goes to What’s Up Muskoka. Being printed on glossy paper certainly makes a difference as it scores high in production quality, photography, and the overall look and feel of the paper. However, while the photos popped on the glossy paper, the layout was lacking and without a classified ad section, lost points there.
Second Place STONEY CREEK NEWS
GENERAL COMMENT There was no one newspaper that immediately rose to the top this year and none that were immediately dismissible. The newspapers in this class are quite similar. All are larger-circulation papers with broad audiences. Almost all of them have devoted considerable resources to their products. This attention to detail shows, as the news writing, advertising, photography, printing quality and general layout of almost all of them is at a very high level. Judging this category was not easy because so many of them set high standards. Overall, this is a credit to the Ontario community newspaper industry and shows that this industry, despite the doom and gloom coming from many observers, is in excellent shape to meet the challenges of the future.
The Stoney Creek News is an excellent paper that delivers its content in a wellorganized package that is clean, sharp and easy to read. The paper provides a well-rounded mix of community news and strong features topped off with firstclass editorial and op-ed pages.
Third Place WHITBY THIS WEEK Whitby This Week covers the community of Whitby in extensive detail. It is a well laid-out paper with a great deal of important information for Whitby residents. Photography was sharp, and general layout, editorial page and advertising all scored strongly. Overall, it fulfils a good community newspaper’s mandate.
JUDGES Bill Phillips
Managing Editor, Prince George Free Press, Prince George, BC
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2012 BNC Awards Results
Frank Bucholtz Editor, The Langley Times, Langley, BC
Sponsored by NORTHERN NEWS SERVICES
Alistair Taylor
Editor, Campbell River Mirror, Campbell River, BC
CIRCULATION
General Excellence – Class 7 Number of entries: 14
First Place
45,000 & OVER
BRANT NEWS
The Brant News included good visuals on the front page. Kudos to your photographer for strong shots that manage to stand out and catch the eye. Photography is quite strong throughout the paper. It includes good community news content and a strong sports section, with an excellent mix of hard and soft news. The design is clean and easy to read. Overall a wonderful community newspaper.
Second Place BURLINGTON POST The Burlington Post is chocked full of what’s happening in the community. An easy to read front page, clear and concise headline writing, good photography, and an active classified section.
Third Place NEWMARKET ERA/ AURORA BANNER
GENERAL COMMENT To review the papers in this category was to realize that every editor and publisher strives to be as community-minded and local as possible, regardless of the pressures of space and resources. Community News is alive and well. It was quite obvious that papers are actively covering a wide range of community events in their area, and actively promoting interaction with readers.
It was heartening to see an elegantly styled broadsheet still fighting the good fight as a community newspaper. And succeeding, too, by the looks of its four sections and healthy ad book in the Newmarket Era/Aurora Banner.
JUDGES John Kendle
Managing Editor, News, Canstar Community New Winnipeg, Manitoba
Marlyn Graziano
Publisher, The Now Newspaper, Surrey, North Delta and White Rock, BC
Peter McCully
Publisher, Parksville Qualicum Beach News, Parksville, BC
2012 BNC Awards Results
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General Excellence – Class 8 Number of entries: 7
First Place
COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY
ALGONQUIN COLLEGE – ALGONQUIN TIMES What a pleasure! Clean, easy to read with a good mix of advertisements. Best over-all sports quality and coverage (Watch the punctuation) Well balanced mix of news and features made a huge impact on us. Lost marks due to lack of copy. Great targeted advertiser choices and market specific layouts. Well done!
Second Place NIAGARA COLLEGE – NIAGARA NEWS The Niagara News is an “easy to read” paper from the front page layout to the last page. The lack of advertisements and sports hurt the marks. It is evident that a lot of thought and creativity goes into putting this paper to bed.
Third Place RYERSON UNIVERSITY – RYERSONIAN Overall a nice job! Good features and local copy. Photography needs some work and layout could use a bit of creativity. (Try playing with some of your headlines).
JUDGE Lois Perry
Lois Perry is the General Manager of the Temiskaming Speaker and Weekender in New Liskeard. Her background is in graphic design and business and she will tell you that she has had, “ink in her veins” for about 28 years. Lois has contributed to all areas of the newspaper industry at one time or another but her passion continues to be, “coming up with unique and profitable new ideas”. She has won many awards for her community service, ad designs, front page layouts and special sections. Lois believes that if a newspaper team is staffed with people that take ownership and care about their community, it is evident when the paper rolls off the press. Assisting her with the judging of this category: *Gord Brock – Editor with 35 years service to the industry. *Steve Laroque – Photographer and Sports Reporter with 18 years service to the industry *Ralph Edes – Press Operator with 45 years of service *Kelly Adams – Graphic Design for 14 years 14
2012 BNC Awards Results
PREMIER AWARDS
Premier Award – Writing Number of entries: 79
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT First Place NEW HAMBURG INDEPENDENT Doug Coxson’s entry ha has it all: good story, good photos and good graphics. It is obvious that the entire news staff valued this piece. This two-page advance splash made this reader keen to see the production. Bravo!
Second Place HONOURABLE MENTION Burlington Post – The front page placement of this story says a lot. This is more than an arts story because of the doggedness of this young male dancer. Kudos to him & to the Burlington Post.
GENERAL COMMENT Wow! What an amazing galaxy of arts and entertainment entries. So much to display, to set on stage and be proud of. Community newspapers are called upon each week to herald the achievements of multiple arts organizations. Some do it, in the midst of greater news gathering, with a photo and a single voice story. Others manage to find the time and ingenuity to literally proclaim the arts with multiple voices and images. It is those newspapers, the exceptions who set a higher value on culture, that we salute.
NORTH BAY NIPISSING NEWS Laurel Campbell’s story covers one angle on a very important national issue: cuts to arts programs. We felt the pain of the student interviewed, but there was also balance to the piece. Well done!
Third Place MANITOULIN EXPOSITOR Absolutely loved the irony of the photos in this colorful spread. Most interesting partnerships going on between countries and a darned good read to boot. Well done Michael Erskine.
JUDGE Wendy Elliott
Arts & entertainment judge Wendy Elliott is a reporter and columnist with the Kings County Advertiser in Nova Scotia. In her over 30 years as a journalist, she has won awards at both the regional and national level.
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2012 BNC Awards Results
Premier Award – Writing Number of entries: 82
BEST BUSINESS AND FINANCE STORY First Place
GRAVENHURST BANNER Allyson Snelling’s “Downtown ... but not out?” was the total package. Quality writing, extensive research and a compelling layout gave this entry the edge. A good business story isn’t just about the numbers. Allyson does a great job conveying the effect a crumbling downtown has on the people that rely upon it to make their living. Probably the best lede of all the entries.
Second Place NEW HAMBURG INDEPENDENT When it came to pure writing, Doug Coxson put on a master class. Tight, muscular prose helped readers seamlessly navigate through a story that chronicled the demise of a treasured local bookstore.
Third Place MARKHAM ECONOMIST & SUN GENERAL COMMENT Many entries in this category contained solid writing, but weak presentation. Just because it’s a business story, doesn’t mean there isn’t art to be found that can entice a reader. Too many entries also bordered on being glorified “advertorials.”
JUDGE
Solid writing and research put L.H. Tiffany Hsieth’s “Condos cash in on cell antennas” entry into third place. Objective reporting on a controversial subject left the question of whether condo owners should take the money or be more concerned about possible detrimental health effects firmly up to the reader to answer.
Ken Goudswaard
Ken has been in the ink trade for more than 25 years as a reporter, editor, publisher and newspaper owner. He is currently editor of the twice-weekly Chilliwack Times in beautiful British Columbia. Ken has won numerous international, national and provincial awards during his newspaper career.
2012 BNC Awards Results
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Premier Award – Writing
BEST EDITORIAL CIRC. 10,000+
Number of entries: 51
First Place MISSISSAUGA NEWS Gerry Tim Timbers took a stand and stuck with his opinion. Quality of writing was impeccable.
Second Place UXBRIDGE TIMES-JOURNAL Judi Bobbitt satisfied all the judging components. Found the article to be of interest to a wide range of readers. Strong writing skills.
HONOURABLE MENTION Brant News
Third Place OSHAWA EXPRESS
GENERAL COMMENT The entries were great overall. There was good content and great variety.
The writer commented on a sensitive issue and took a strong stand on the issue. An extremely relevant and important subject matter to the community and the province.
JUDGE Andrea Nicholl
Andrea’s roots are set deep in Barrie, Ontario where she spent the majority of her life. Though the winds of change planted her in Saskatchewan, she still calls Ontario home. She spent two years studying print journalism through Sheridan College, and went on to secure an internship at the Barrie Examiner. A subsequent reporter position at the Lloydminster Source was followed by an opportunity in Grenfell, Saskatchewan. She currently works as the managing editor for their weekly publication, the Grenfell Sun/Broadview Express.
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2012 BNC Awards Results
Premier Award – Writing
BEST EDITORIAL CIRC. -9,999
Number of entries: 30
First Place
NUNAVUT NEWS/NORTH Tim Edwards has a well-presented, well-written and a forceful, realistic approach to a serious problem for the communities residents. Top marks for honesty and readability.
Second Place SIOUX LOOKOUT WAWATAY NEWS A reasoned and thoughtful approach to the outcome of a story that should be of concern to all residents of this community and beyond. Well done to Shawn Bell.
HONOURABLE MENTION Alexandria Glengarry News – Fresh, witty approach to a quick decision. Nice touch.
GENERAL COMMENT Generally well-written editorials from smallcirculation papers that are serving their communities well. Many brave stances on topics from teacher strikes to community Christmas trees to controversial court decisions. Well done and keep making a difference in your respective communities.
Third Place BURKS FALLS ALMAGUIN NEWS Humour and creativity allowed this motherhood piece by Rob Learn to claim a top mark. Who says editorials can’t be fun and thoughtprovoking at the same time?
JUDGE
Glenn Mitchell
Glenn Mitchell is the managing editor of The Morning Star newspaper in Vernon, B.C. and has worked at Black Press newspapers since 1986. He is a former director of the B.C. Press Council.
2012 BNC Awards Results
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EDUCATION WRITING
Premier Award – Writing Number of entries: 63
First Place
TORONTO FOREST HILL TOWN CRIER
The writing is crisp and brings the reader into the classroom in the first sentence. Shawn Star takes a subject often dismissed as dull – math – and makes it interesting in humanizing fascinating learning techniques.
Second Place CALEDON ENTERPRISE Andrew Livingstone and Robyn Wilkinson use very good imagery to open this story. A decision to use quotes that have impact brings a story reported by many to a higher level.
HONOURABLE MENTION Cobden Sun – A heck of a lot of good information with respect to a serious issue. The story on teen suicide and mental illness does a great job in relaying one teen’s tale while also imparting crucial lessons for all of us. Well done.
GENERAL COMMENT I was impressed with the entries and had a damn difficult decision once I pared them down to my top 15 or so. I like the diversity of the entries (I really liked the story on the kids and the frogs and the teacher who uses her family ties to teach about the war). Some really good work. I especially like that reporters went out and spoke to kids in many, if not all, of these pieces. That sounds like a no-brainer, but there are far too many stories that simply quote the powers-that-be.
Third Place SIOUX LOOKOUT WAWATAY NEWS In this annoying age of iPhones, iPads and perpetually crooked necks directing eyes to stare into cellphones, it was refreshing to read a tale of a community leading the way in introducing native youth to their traditions. Lenny Carpenter used effective quotes and told an interesting tale.
JUDGE Chris Foulds
Christopher Foulds is editor of Kamloops This Week, which is like being a horse and carriage operator as Henry Ford is opening his first factory down the street. Foulds has a Facebook and Twitter account, but prefers ink on his fingers. If not for the grounding employed by his kids and the B.C. Lions, he shudders to think of what this business would have done to his fragile mind.
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2012 BNC Awards Results
Sponsored by ONTARIO JOURNALISM EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION
Premier Award – Writing
ENVIRONMENT ONTARIO
Number of entries: 65
First Place VANKLEEK HILL REVIEW A very complex and complicated environmental issue but with some solid research, good writing, and factual information Justin Bromberg was able to keep the reader’s interest in what could have been a rather dry read. The local impact of road salt usage was certainly the base of this story, and it left me asking the next question; what is being done about this environmental problem? Great job.
Second Place WHAT’S UP MUSKOKA A close second. Corey Wilkinson gives us a story of how tightly linked we are to our environment. A seemingly harmless storage of railway ties begins, almost immediately, to affect the health of local residents. A connection is made and the source of the problem is removed. How great is that for a story making a difference? I would have liked to see a reference to some research; nevertheless, the local population drove home the message.
Third Place HAMILTON MOUNTAIN NEWS GENERAL COMMENT Many stories need more research, but aside from that, the writing was sharp and the list of environmental concerns, both on a local and global level, was what made these stories important and a pleasure to read.
JUDGE
Something was foul with this story right from the start, and that is just the point. This story by Richard Leitner had everything from politics, homeowners, illegal sewage hook-ups to the blame game. A great headline and the quick reference to e-coli near the end drove home the point. A little more input from local research groups would have solidified the story. It isn’t a story local residents will soon forget.
Richard Tardif
A graduate of environmental science and journalism at Concordia University, Richard began a freelance reporting and editing career in 1994 and continued his career at The Eastern Door in Kahnawake, Quebec in 2006, covering municipal politics, community sports and writing investigative environmental features. An award winning journalist, beat reporter, and photographer he is also Executive Director of the Quebec Community Newspapers Association. 2012 BNC Awards Results
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FEATURE WRITING
Premier Award – Writing
CIRC. 10,000+
Number of entries: 69
First Place
OTTAWA HILL TIMES
What appears at first to be a straight news profile is much more. Jessica Bruno takes us through the compelling legal and personal twists of a professional bureaucrat’s legal fight with her former government employer. Bruno lets the story unfold in a way that does justice to the battle’s time frame and her subject’s efforts and frustrations without bogging down in the details. The insights drawn are all the more powerful come the excellent conclusion.
Second Place CLARINGTON THIS WEEK
HONOURABLE MENTION Elmira-Woolwich Observer – This is a well-written account of a family coming to grips with their mother’s death in the Haitian earthquake. It revisits both the disaster and the death of a community member while exploring the connection and grief shared by two communities a world apart. It’s interesting and colourful, if a little long and a bit shy on insight. Tidy, attractive layout with plenty of photos to support the narrative.
GENERAL COMMENT The quality of entries in this category was uniformly high with a satisfying level of editorial polish. However, most took a very newsy approach. Great features dig into their subject matter and find the real story and the local context, which provides true insight. They also simply tell a good story and get to know characters and issues in a way that news stories do not. Though their styles differ, the winning entries take this approach.
JUDGE
Jennifer O’Meara takes solid initiative in getting ahead of an evolving community issue. Her sharply written and wellresearched examination of the effects of a wind turbine farm on a neighbouring community is full of valuable insight of her own. Solid, informative sidebars provide context, but the design of the piece is underwhelming.
Third Place NORTH BAY NIPISSING NEWS
Solid reporting as well as a strong, conversational voice grab the reader in Laurel J. Campbell’s account of a pet store robbery and sexual assault. The journalist has done an admirable and sensitive job of coaxing the story of the incident and its aftermath out of her traumatized subjects.
Ian Doig
The current editor of Where Calgary, Essential Calgary and former editor of Fast Forward Weekly, Ian Doig’s feature writing has been published in numerous magazines and newspapers including The Globe and Mail, Calgary Herald, Canadian Geographic, Alberta Venture, Quill & Quire as well as online at OpenFile Calgary.
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2012 BNC Awards Results
Sponsored by O’DONNELL, ROBERTSON & SANFILIPPO
Premier Award – Writing
FEATURE WRITING CIRC. -9,999
Number of entries: 34
First Place VANKLEEK HILL REVIEW A must-read for every parent of a teenager. This well-crafted article by Justin Bromberg presents a very telling look inside the machinations of the provincial police procedure as well as the potential pitfalls of social media. Well researched with a good narrative flow. Story is a stellar example of what community news does best.
Second Place NEW HAMBURG INDEPENDENT Excellent piece. Informative, both about the disorder and limited treatment options available to the community. Doug Coxson deftly incorporated the human element to help demystify and destigmatize a mental illness. Great use of visuals and quick facts in the sidebar.
HONOURABLE MENTION Sioux Lookout Wawatay News – Great descriptive narrative presented alongside wonderful photographs that captured the mood of the journey. I felt like I was right in the back seat along for the ride. And that’s exactly what a well-written story should do.
GENERAL COMMENT This was an incredibly difficult competition to judge – the calibre of the writing made it almost impossible to select only three winners of the 34 submissions. There clearly remains a readership for longer features and this is reflected in the quality of the submissions. Bravo.
Third Place NUNAVUT NEWS/ NORTH Very well-researched and comprehensive. Casey Lessard clearly illustrates the dire living conditions and housing crisis in the north. Superbly written.
JUDGE Carmen Marie Fabio A recovering high-tech employee, Carmen Marie Fabio made the leap to journalism in 2009 and has enjoyed every minute of it. An award-winning journalist and staunch advocate for the role of the community paper, she is now the editor and columnist at Your Local Journal in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec.
Sponsored by O’DONNELL, ROBERTSON & SANFILIPPO
2012 BNC Awards Results
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Premier Award – Writing Number of entries: 77
First Place
HEALTH & WELLNESS
PETERBOROUGH THIS WEEK
This piece has everything. In-depth research into an extremely complicated issue, multiple sources that continued to drive the story further, clear, concise writing that was filled with colour, and photos that went beyond the garden variety pose, point and shoot. It laid out a dangerous mental health issue in relation to elderly parents, and you couldn’t help but feel for all parties involved, including the police. Only one minor criticism: I noticed a few errors that could have been caught, but they didn’t have significant impact on the overall piece. The lead pulls you in and it only gets better after that. Great job from Sarah Frank! An easy choice for first place!
Second Place ORLEANS EMC
HONOURABLE MENTION
Vankleek Hill Review – I really liked this story. It was well written and flowed well. It could have used more sources, however, which would have driven the score for this piece higher.
GENERAL COMMENT Overall, this category was extremely rewarding for me to judge; about the myriad of health problems faced in Ontario communities, and how they all tie into each other in so many ways. Politics, money and access (or lack thereof) to proper health care were common. Frustration with wait times, and feeling alone and helpless, were also paramount in the entries. Some entries were discounted early because they were missing a key element: A personal journey, a tale of woe. The pieces that placed and won had multiple sources, an urgent issue, and they weren’t afraid to talk about topics that can be taboo at the best of times. I learned a lot from the 77 entries and I came away from it more informed. And that is primarily what we strive to do as good reporters serving our communities.
A fitting second place finish for a story by Brier Dodge that dug deeper into a dicey issue no one wants to talk about: suicide. Getting a teen on board to talk really made you feel for those involved, and giving a bit of background into two high profile suicides was probably not received well by everyone in the community, but the reporter was not swayed. The people drive the story but the sheer numbers are horrifying. The increase in mental health cases underline the need for more money to help the youth, especially the way they responded, by reaching out for professional help in alarming numbers after the suicides of a famous hockey player’s daughter and a city councillor’s son. A small criticism: Always introduce abbreviated names (like CHEO), and don’t assume readers know. Even if they do know, it looks better.
Third Place
BURKS FALLS ALMAGUIN NEWS Although the headline was off-putting with two acronyms, the story is timely, well researched and intriguing to read. Kelly McShane combined a health problem – which is tough enough on its own – with a political connection that outraged community members. It laid out a good lesson about health and politics, and the frustration that comes when those two elements are combined. The sources ranged far and wide and I was able to get a good picture of this issue as an outsider, which is the mark of a good reporter. A solid piece on a pertinent local issue!
JUDGE
Steve Bonspiel
Steve Bonspiel is an award-winning journalist from the Mohawk community of Kanesatake who purchased The Eastern Door newspaper in his sister community of Kahnawake in 2008. He is editor/publisher and sole owner of the paper. Major highlights of his career include a nomination for the paper in 2011 for the prestigious Michener Award, which pitted the small community newspaper against giants like CBC and the Vancouver Sun. Steve also won the 2011 and 2012 Canadian Association of Journalists’ top prize in community journalism. 24
2012 BNC Awards Results
Premier Award – Writing
HERITAGE
Number of entries: 77
First Place
ELMIRA-WOOLWICH OBSERVER Congratulations to Colin Dewar on creating a story that was both memorable and refreshing, simply by bringing a small stage back to life. Well-researched and artfully crafted, the story and its supporting graphics are both informative and entertaining. The treatment of the piece, specifically through fonts and graphics, showcase the work well.
Second Place PRESCOTT JOURNAL A beautifully-told, somewhat chilling story by Jeff Morris, that shows the impact the loss of one life can have on the world. Good supporting images, and solid reporting.
HONOURABLE MENTION Haliburton County Echo – Wonderful lead, clever writing tools and visual descriptions put this story in the front running for Honourable Mention.
GENERAL COMMENT Ontario’s rich heritage provided for an impressive array of topics, spanning from personal stories of loss to those demonstrating impressive community spirit. It is clear that the drive to save the province’s heritage is alive within Ontario newsrooms. Heritage writing gives us the chance to delve into our community’s past, while relating an issue to the present. The winning entries were selected for their ability to do both. The winners here prove that through strong storytelling, solid research and evocative images, any subject can have new life breathed into it.
Third Place BRAMPTON GUARDIAN This story precisely charts the history of a oncebeloved building that has been painstakingly restored, in a way that the reader can sense the love that local history buffs have for the building.
JUDGE Jessica Peters Jessica has been the editor of the Agassiz-Harrison Observer for the past four years, as the newspaper’s sole photographer, writer and web manager. The Observer is a frequent award recipient, including Ma Murray General Excellence and Great Ideas Awards. She began her career with Black Press in 1999, shortly after graduating from Kwantlen University. As a mother of three young children, she is an avid community volunteer. Jessica also speaks to students at the elementary school and university level as a way to increase interest in journalism and literacy. Sponsored by FORT FRANCES TIMES
2012 BNC Awards Results
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BEST INVESTIGATIVE NEWS STORY
Premier Award – Writing Number of entries: 35
First Place CALEDON ENTERPRISE
Andrew Livingstone and Robyn Wilkinston rose to the top for uncovering proof that dog attacks in their community were being poorly or incompetently reported by officials, understating the risk to the community at large.
Second Place WATERLOO CHRONICLE
Paige Desmond did well by finding out why 10 school children were suspended despite the school board’s privacy policy which suppresses the sometimes bizarre reasons justifying them.
HONOURABLE MENTION Bracebridge Examiner – Louis Tam deserves credit for bringing a poverty-stricken couple at risk of losing their trailer home to the community’s attention, and shining a light on the blight of rural economic misfortune.
GENERAL COMMENT Smaller reporting staffs and the “doing more with less” work ethic may have resulted in a sharp decrease in entries and quality of entries this year. That’s why this year’s winners deserve extra credit for finding a way to tell important community stories using investigative techniques. First some general comments: Reporting on law suits can’t be considered an investigative story if all the reporter did was get a copy of a statement of claim. Nor can a “he said, she said”, one-dimensional story. The winners in this category went to the trouble and expense in two cases of filing Freedom of Information requests to obtain documents that prove facts, then interviewing the principles behind those documents. Each of the three winners did immensely detailed, multi-page reports that, combined, showed a determination to SHOW, rather than tell, readers what is at the center of the controversies they covered.
Third Place GRAVENHURST BANNER
Neil Etienne did stalwart duty by laying bare the myth that there are no homeless in rural towns, despite the usual suspects attempting to suppress such information.
JUDGE
Joe Banks
Joe Banks has been an Ontario community newspaper reporter, editor and publisher for 25 years. He now coordinates, and is a professor for the journalism program at Algonquin College.
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2012 BNC Awards Results
BEST NEWS STORY
Premier Award – Writing
CIRC. 10,000+
Number of entries: 63
First Place TORONTO TODAY
Great work by writer Omar Mosleh who had several top notch stories in this category from Toronto-area newspapers. This one stands-out for it’s in-depth look at this issue, strong layout and a great read from start to finish.
Second Place TORONTO FOREST HILL TOWN CRIER
HONOURABLE MENTION Niagara this Week, Niagara Falls – A well-written piece from Richard Hutton going inside the mind of a woman who tried to save an accident victim. Just an average citizen trying to help out, but this certainly was not an average story. Well done.
GENERAL COMMENT
Overall, this was a very difficult category to judge, evident of all the close scores among many of the newspapers. Lots of great stories from several fire scenes, robberies, shootings and stories of loss, anger and frustration with labour disputes, there was certainly lots to choose from. Why some scored better than others was the overall quality of writing, story placement and treatment of headlines, artwork and page turns. In some instances, the whole story could have been placed on a front page with great artwork and that could have meant the difference for some. For others, they turned the story to several pages without artwork and that lost marks. Overall though, some outstanding work by the reporters, editors and graphics people.
JUDGE
Reporter Omar Mosleh, with Shadi Raoufi, does it again with a great story on a possible casino coming to this community. Again, well researched and the layout and front page graphics really draw the reader in, so extra kudos for that.
Third Place SCARBOROUGH MIRROR Reporter Andrew Palamarchuk was very close in this category with his well-written article on this neighbourhood shooting that touched the whole country when it made national news. Good art work and placement of the story. Just lost a few points on the writing from the other two in this category.
Ian Jacques Ian Jacques has been the editor of the Coast Reporter on the Sunshine Coast of B.C. since 2003. Coast Reporter is an awardwinning community newspaper based in Sechelt serving the community of the Sunshine Coast from Langdale to Saltery Bay and all points in between. Coast Reporter has been named top newspaper in Canada in its circulation class twice in the past 10 years and top newspaper in its circulation class in the B.C. three out of the last four years. It has also won numerous awards for photography, ad design and special publications work the past several years at the provincial level. Sponsored by HYDRO ONE NETWORKS INC.
2012 BNC Awards Results
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Premier Award – Writing
BEST NEWS STORY CIRC. -9,999
Number of entries: 27
First Place NUNAVUT NEWS/NORTH
A disaster of the first order here. Two killed and 85 left homeless. The fact that reporter Casey Lessard went beyond to get the former fire marshal’s opinion was good as it suggested this disaster was just a matter of time. Photos helped with telling the story. Casey did well in being on scene and getting interviews.
Second Place PARRY SOUND NORTH STAR A good team effort here on copy and photos. Good work on getting quotes on scene and from fire and weather experts. A good selection of photos assisted in telling the story.
HONOURABLE MENTION Cobden Sun – A heart tugger of friends and family left behind in the aftermath of a crash. Good front page play with photos and quotes from family and friends.
Third Place
GENERAL COMMENT Fatalities were quite prominent in this category, unfortunately, and reporters should be commended for taking on the difficult task of interviewing those left behind. For the most part copy was quite well rounded and balanced and often, decent photography was incorporated to help tell the story.
WEST CARLETON REVIEW EMC
This one’s a heartstring tugger by Theresa Fritz. This story paints quite the picture of two sides of a St. Patty’s party – a drinker drives away, while a couple walks away. The tragedy.
JUDGE
Dave Whitfield
Dave Whitfield is editor of the Rocky Mountain Outlook weekly newspaper. The Outlook covers Banff, Canmore and the Bow Valley in Alberta. Whitfield has spent more than 20 years in journalism, with weekly community newspapers, an alternative entertainment weekly and a professional rodeo monthly, as well as dabbling in freelance work.
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2012 BNC Awards Results
Sponsored by HYDRO ONE NETWORKS INC.
Premier Award – Writing
BEST RURAL STORY CIRC. 10,000+
Number of entries: 38
First Place OTTAWA HILL TIMES
This story combines some the best elements not only of community newspapering, but of journalism, period: social injustice, addressed through thorough reporting, clear writing, striking presentation... and even a touch of zeal. Yes, the news around Attawapiskat has certainly progressed since this story was written in December, 2011 – and so, to some extent, the events accounted for here are moot. But the fundamental issue being so well-addressed in this story is as critical now as it was then. Congratulations to reporter Bea Vongdouangchanh.
Second Place WHAT’S UP MUSKOKA
HONOURABLE MENTION Peterborough This Week – For a community newspaper reporter in an area where almost ‘everyone knows everyone,’ it can be tempting to just go with the flow of prevailing local opinion on a controversial subject. But while reporter Joel Wiebe lets angry locals have their say against wind turbines, he also takes care to research and present the other side of the issue. The package is enhanced with dramatic photography by Lance Anderson and a layout organized with sub-heads and a fact-box. Well-done.
GENERAL COMMENT
As usual, judging a category in the OCNA competition is ‘the best of times, the worst of times.’ The quality of submissions is consistently high, and that’s very gratifying. But it means I have to go back... and back... over them to eventually arrive at my top four! But the other entrants in this group should know that I was impressed across the board. Congratulations to all.
JUDGE
Municipal governance and related matters – taxation systems, the budgeting process, relations between levels of government – can be daunting for readers and reporters, but Chris Occhiuzzi tackles a serious local controversy coalescing around them with comprehensive research, conversational writing and balance between the two sides. Readers are well-served.
Third Place NEWMARKET ERA / AURORA BANNER This was one of a half-dozen entries – all well-done – about withering weather and its dramatic effect on fruit-growers and other farmers. Reporters L.H. Tiffany Hsieh and Simon Martin and photographer Sjoerd Witteveen get the nod for their version of this important story by quoting a wide variety of sources with varying experiences and views, and by presenting their information with attractive simplicity.
Stephen Cogan Stephen Cogan is a proud alumnus of community newspapers in the Upper Ottawa Valley. He’s also been a writer and editor at the Kingston Whig-Standard, CBC News in Toronto and NBC News in New York. He co-manages the journalism programs at Centennial College in Toronto.
Sponsored by ONTARIO FEDERATION OF AGRICULTURE
2012 BNC Awards Results
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Premier Award – Writing
BEST RURAL STORY
Number of entries: 24
First Place
CIRC. -9,999
MANOTICK MESSENGER
Reporter Jeff Morris wrote an exhaustive news feature about the effect changes to Ontario provincial government slot machine policy were going to have on horse racing tracks; this wasn’t the only entry to approach this issue. Morris’ article was packed with facts, excellent quotes and some nice photography. Morris’ greatest achievement here was showing, not telling, what effect the changes were going to have on people, families and businesses. Bravo Jeff.
Second Place MINTO EXPRESS
HONOURABLE MENTION Gravenhurst Banner – Neil Etienne’s feature about a woman forced by circumstance to live in her car in an affluent community may come as a shock to some. But homelessness is an issue across the country, and not just in metropolitan areas. Rural areas face it too. Etienne’s story really gave a name and face to homelessness, and it shows the human cost of poverty.
GENERAL COMMENT This was a tough category to judge, as the majority of entries were deserving of a top three finish. In order to identify and recognize the top three stories, I added an invisible judging criteria, “Creativity/Initiative.” With this, three stories and one very worthy honourable mention rose to the top. The top three plus the honourable mention have excellent writing, illustrative photography and solid factual information, but also are creative or show great initiative from the reporters, photographers and other staff involved. All three illustrate issues which rural communities across the country are facing: government cutbacks, the quality of rural healthcare and government mendacity. The honourable mention brings to the forefront an issue growing in many rural communities: homelessness. Once again, a very difficult category to judge: easily, two-thirds of the entries could have been top three finishers.
JUDGE
Shannon Burrows’ entry, part of a series on changing healthcare services in rural communities, is going to seem more and more relevant as the next five to 10 years pass. As the Baby Boomers retire and require more and more healthcare resources, younger generations are going to ask, “How are we going to pay for this?” The answer may be a new breed of healthcare professional. All rural communities across the country should be looking at this issue.
Third Place WEST CARLETON REVIEW EMC
Reporter Derek Dunn’s great little story about a beloved community bingo had great impact. Since the Sixties, community members enjoy this outdoor bingo, but the provincial government cracked down, noting bingo is gambling and no children allowed. The story certainly deserves some follow up, and it would be interesting to see if provincially elected representatives could press for changes to allow children to attend bingo. Obviously, children in this community want to do just that.
Stewart Salkeld
Stewart Salkeld grew up in a tiny farming community located in the east-central region of Alberta, so he is no stranger to rural communities. Graduating from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in 1991 with a diploma in Journalism, Salkeld has spent his entire newspaper career as a reporter or editor with community newspapers. The papers he’s worked for include the Oyen Echo, the Arrow Lakes News, the Macleod Gazette and the Rocky Mountain House Mountaineer. Salkeld has been at The Mountaineer since 2001, starting as a reporter/photographer and becoming editor after the sudden passing of Brian Mazza in 2007. 30
2012 BNC Awards Results
Sponsored by ONTARIO FEDERATION OF AGRICULTURE
Premier Award – Writing Number of entries: 53
First Place
BEST FEATURE/NEWS SERIES CIRC. 10,000+
THUNDER BAY SOURCE This series is very well done. It handles a tragic event tactfully, and conveys the emotion of the community. Very well done on the writing, and there is an effective use of photos. It’s rare that a photo without people in it can be as effective as the highway photo in this series is. Very well done. The simplicity of this entry is really what sets it apart from the others. It’s a hugely complex story to put together, and to get it down to such a human level, where the emotion is key, is not an easy task.
Second Place
BRIGHTON / EAST NORTHUMBERLAND INDEPENDENT
HONOURABLE MENTION
London Community News – This series is great. Simple things are used in a very efficient manner to get points across. The reader is not led in any way, but is instead offered the opportunity to come to their own conclusion, which is great and too few series allow the reader that chance. Photos that are just subtle enough, such as the one with the security fence, have strong impact. The series takes a natural progression and covers the questions that readers are asking. The only reason it did not finish in the top three is because of a few layout issues that are distracting to audiences. The gap that separated this story from being in the top three, though, was very small.
GENERAL COMMENT
I would say that the majority of the pieces entered in this competition were very well put together. They were effective pieces. One of the areas that can use improvement across the board is layout. The top three selections had solid layout, while some others that weren’t selected did not. There were a lot of papers where layout was simply too tight; there was no an effective use of photos, graphs or pull quotes; and other visual issues were distracting. Another area that is cause for concern is that there were some series entered to the competition that had copyediting errors. These errors are noticeable, and they are, again, distracting to readers. Still, in general, these series were great. Some became a bit redundant, because there are some topics that are continuously touched upon. At the end of the day, it’s the series that can do something very different, or put a new spin on an old story, that will be remembered.
JUDGE Ben Proulx
All stories included in this series are well written, and John Campbell has clear flow from story to story. Photos are well used to draw the reader’s attention, and headline writing is used effectively to do the same. By the last story written, the reader is invested in the ongoing coverage. This is a very well-written series. A lot of times, planned series can become dry. In this case, the issue arose, and what could have been written as two stories was then turned into a series. Very well done. This piece is a second-place winner because of its adaptation to everything that is happening. It doesn’t step on its own toes with what was already written, and it effectively conveys the struggles being felt in this situation.
Third Place OSHAWA THIS WEEK
This is a great series. All the reader’s questions are answered, and it brings forward something that is of high interest to all readers, and a topic that many may not be aware of. Layout is well done, with blocks of texts efficiently broken up, as well. The use of the fundraising breakdown chart, too, is a great way to pull a potentially uninterested reader in, and I can only assume that would be enough to then make them read the stories. Great job. This is a story that’s been done before in other markets, but never quite in this way, that I’ve seen. Any time a reporter can take something and make it his own – while putting an entirely new perspective on what’s happening – that’s worthy of placement.
Ben Proulx is the editor of the Fort Saskatchewan Record in Alberta. Prior to taking over as editor in Fort Saskatchewan, Ben was a senior reporter at the Sherwood Park News, also in Alberta, where he made a name for himself through investigative reporting and in-depth news series, as well as through take-to-task opinion columns. Ben has also created layout style guides that are now being used across four markets. 2012 BNC Awards Results
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Premier Award – Writing Number of entries: 23
BEST FEATURE/NEWS SERIES CIRC. -9,999 First Place NUNAVUT NEWS/NORTH Casey Lessard’s “Feeding Nunavut” series required numerous interviews and indepth research to put the spotlight on a huge and pervasive problem. Along with flawless writing, it also made good use of fact files and data comparisons.
Second Place MEAFORD EXPRESS Scott Woodhouse’s series is a perfect example of content that readers want: personal, informative, funny and beautifully laid out. Use of Facebook status updates, an accompanying Movember moustache saga and terminology boxes were all part of the package.
HONOURABLE MENTION Sioux Lookout Wawatay News – Stephanie Wesley’s two stories and a column on a serious community problem had real impact.
GENERAL COMMENT Entries in this category prove that Ontario’s smaller community paper staff are continuing to invest time and talent into covering important and/or compelling topics in depth. Bravo. While the top-three winners all earned the highest marks for quality of writing, Casey Lessard’s Nunavut News/North series on poverty and the exorbitant cost of food in Nunavut narrowly beat out Scott Woodhouse’s fantastic first-person series on his experience with prostate cancer simply because “relevance to community” is such a significant judging criterion.
Third Place GRAVENHURST BANNER We’ve all seen a number of these “emergency services in focus” pieces, but Louis Tam’s made for great reading from start to finish without sliding into the volunteer hero worship trap.
JUDGE Gail Sjuberg Gail Sjuberg has been the editor of the award-winning Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper in B.C. since 2003 and in the community newspaper business for more than 20 years. She is also the editor of Driftwood Publishing Ltd.’s magazine called Aqua-Gulf Islands Living and the Gulf Islander tourist guide, and has been a judge for numerous community newspaper competitions.
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2012 BNC Awards Results
Premier Award – Writing Number of entries: 78
SPORT & RECREATION STORY First Place ANCASTER NEWS
A compelling tale about one man’s commitment to his sport despite daunting odds. In turn, he’s an inspiration to others in his community to follow suit. The presentation of this piece would have benefited from more creative photography and layout. Nevertheless, a solid winner by Mike Pearson.
Second Place BURLINGTON POST A well-written and researched story by Herb Garbutt about a local individual instrumental in the creation of the Special Olympics. This detailed piece gives the community a deep understanding of the effort involved in bringing disabled people into the sports world.
HONOURABLE MENTION
Prescott Journal – Jeff Morris tells a touching story about a community’s support for a young man overcoming challenges to play hockey. The entry would have scored higher with editing to tighten the writing.
GENERAL COMMENT
The top contenders in this category emerged quite quickly, as they combined strong writing, compelling subject matter, and came closest to meeting the judging criteria, namely, to raise community awareness of sports and recreation opportunities, or address related problems. Unfortunately, the majority of the 70-plus entries in this category missed that mark, with standard sports reporting on individuals or events. Mediocre photography and layout also took down the marks of many entries. Great stories deserve great art and presentation!
Third Place NEWMARKET ERA / AURORA BANNER John Cudmore writes an extensive piece on an important issue in sports – the imbalance of female coaches versus male. Hopefully, it raised awareness and encouraged female athletes to pursue coaching opportunities.
JUDGE Andrew Holota
Andrew Holota is the editor of the Abbotsford News, a twice-weekly community newspaper that is part of the Black Press chain. He is also the regional editorial manager for Black Press Lower Mainland, overseeing editorial standards, and coordinating training and mentoring programs for multi-media journalists. Andrew’s journalism career began more than 35 years ago, as a photographer. He moved into reporting, and has been an editor since 1984 at various Valley and Lower Mainland community newspapers. Throughout his career, he has won numerous provincial, national and continental awards. 2012 BNC Awards Results
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Premier Award – Writing Number of entries: 24
HUMOUR COLUMNIST OF THE YEAR First Place
WATERLOO CHRONICLE – BOB VRBANAC Bob Vrbanac’s kooky sense of humour is on full display as he writes about life with his three sons. son Whether he’s exploring how brutally honest kids can be or recounting a trip to the emergency room with his young son, his ideas are fresh and fun.
Second Place LINDSAY POST – PEGGY ARMSTRONG If you want to chuckle over a column that blends research, reporting and commentary with wit and lovely writing, you’ll want to check out Peggy Armstrong’s work in the Lindsay Post.
HONOURABLE MENTION Elmira-Woolwich Observer – Steve Galea – Steve Galea’s great use of dialogue and wellchosen anecdotes mean his columns are reliably entertaining. Although his humour is slightly off-thewall, he also manages to be familiar too.
GENERAL COMMENT The entire field of competitors for this year’s Humour Columnist of the Year category displayed a great knack of finding the funny in everyday life. Whether they used their own stories as fodder for commentary or poked fun at current events, neighbours or general human foibles, these writers did it thoughtfully, respectfully and - luckily for readers - entertainingly.
JUDGE
Third Place ORILLIA TODAY – FRANK MATYS Readers of Orillia Today are lucky to have Frank Matys’ zany but relatable humour coming at them on a regular basis. In telling the story of one family’s unexpected and, er, non-PG movie night, for example, he displays a good sense of informed fun.
Julie McCann Julie McCann is a full-time journalism professor at Algonquin College. Prior to that, she was a staff writer at National Post Business magazine and a contributor to Chatelaine, Canadian Geographic, Applied Arts, the Montreal Gazette and the Ottawa Citizen. Previously she was the managing editor at Canadian in-flight magazine and a staff writer at Marketing Magazine. She holds a B.A.A. in journalism (magazine) from Ryerson University and an M.J. from Carleton University. She makes her home in Ottawa. 34
2012 BNC Awards Results
COLUMNIST OF THE YEAR
Premier Award – Writing Number of entries: 44
First Place
TORONTO BEACH-RIVERDALE-EAST YORK TOWN CRIER – SANDRA BUSSIN These articles show strong knowledge and history with the subject matter. I learned a lot about a topic we’re only getting sound bytes on here in western Canada.
Second Place BROCK CITIZEN – NEIL CRONE Shows humour and enjoyment of writing!
GENERAL COMMENT I scored people very hard - with 44 competitors, it was extremely difficult to separate some of the talent. The writers I chose for the top four all had different styles, different subject matter, but all had exceptional articles. Well done!
Third Place WHITBY THIS WEEK – BRIAN MCNAIR We don’t get enough opportunities to humanize our subject matter these days. These articles did just that.
JUDGE Sheena Read Sheena Read has worked in communications for what she horrifyingly realizes is more than a quarter of a century. She has been a freelance photojournalist for newspapers and magazines across Canada, and is currently the multi-media editor of the Nanton News, her hometown paper.
2012 BNC Awards Results
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Premier Award – Writing Number of entries: 15
STEPHEN SHAW AWARD FOR REPORTER OF THE YEAR First Place
OAKVILLE BEAVER – DAVID LEA This piece did a remarkable job of handling and detailing a very sensitive topic. I loved the interviews and found the sidebar information to be a tremendous addition. This is the sort of work to which every journalist should aspire.
Second Place LINDSAY POST – LISA GERVAIS Such an unexpected and thorough handling of a story angle that most reporters wouldn’t think of. Excellent job of handling the facts and presenting different viewpoints. Very fair-minded.
HONOURABLE MENTION Waterdown Flamborough Review – Catherine O’Hara – As a BC resident I was completely unaware of this issue. I found the attention to detail and the story’s overall impact made for a compelling read.
GENERAL COMMENT Having read each of these articles several times I am impressed by the quality of each. Community newspaper journalism is clearly thriving in Ontario and readers are the clear winners. There wasn’t a single entry in this category that didn’t do credit to its writer, newspaper, community and subject. It’s a shame that not all can receive an award other than the well-earned satisfaction of a job well done.
Third Place OSHAWA EXPRESS – GEOFF ZOCHODNE Tremendous job of researching a topic of local and national interest. Well organized and thoughtful.
JUDGE Lorne Eckersley Lorne Eckersley has been involved with newspapers since he edited his Grade 6 class paper. In his 34-year professional career he has worked as a reporter, photographer, advertising manager, columnist and publisher. He has lived in Creston BC for the entire period, having relocated there after completing the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology journalism program in 1979.
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2012 BNC Awards Results
Sponsored by ONTARIO POWER GENERATION
EDITOR OF THE YEAR
Premier Award – Writing Number of entries: 5
First Place
OSHAWA THIS WEEK – JOANNE BURGHARDT It is hard to argue against the immense leadership shown by Joanne Burghardt in 2012. She oversaw an award-winning 35-member newsroom. She organized two international “stretch” projects including coverage of the Summer Olympics that saw publication of 597 Olympic articles plus video, pictures, photo galleries and athlete profiles. In addition she coordinated Night and Day 2012: A 24-Hour Medical Journey, a 100 page book that delivered a rare behind the scenes look into our health care system. Her papers produce consistently high quality work, and Joanne still finds time to give back to her community and industry. Her dedication and leadership is second to none.
Second Place OTTAWA HILL TIMES – KATE MALLOY
GENERAL COMMENT While the number of entries is relatively small their overall quality reflects a wonderful cross-section of high level editorial leadership. All entries displayed the type of initiative we expect from editors in tune with their communities. The daily reality of entrants varied significantly from large, multiple title newsrooms where management is paramount to small newsrooms where the editor is an active participant in generating copy. It made for a difficult competition to judge. On some levels the established criterion demands comparing apples to oranges. Ultimately, however, a clear winner emerged in Joanne Burghardt of Oshawa This Week.
JUDGE
There is a reason The Hill Times is one of the smartest, best-written newspapers in the country, Kate Malloy. Weekly this jack-of-all trades editor delivers a product that is used as primary source material for larger media outlets. She writes compelling features and insightful editorials. Her editing is crisp, delivering thoughtful, insightful content.
Third Place WATERDOWN FLAMBOROUGH REVIEW – BRENDA JEFFERIES Brenda Jeffries is a small paper editor making a big impact. She oversees two reporters who produce 40 to 56 pages a week for the Waterdown Flamborough Review. Her job description should simply say ‘Do it all’ including assignment editor, copy editor, paginator, writer, photographer. She balances significant community involvement with powerful editorials, not an easy task in small towns.
Paul MacNeill
Paul MacNeill is Publisher of Island Press Limited based in Montague, PEI. He has won several dozen awards on a regional, national and international basis for his editorials and investigative reporting. He is Chairman of the Newspapers Canada Board of Directors.
2012 BNC Awards Results
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Premier Award – Photography
BEST FEATURE PHOTO CIRC. 10,000+
Number of entries: 50
First Place WHITBY THIS WEEK Sabrina Byrnes’ pic for Whitby This Week has outstanding impact in addition to being crisp, wellcomposed and used.
Second Place HONOURABLE MENTION Clarington This Week – Ron Pietroniro may have captured the most dangerous through-the-legs shot ever. Courageous and cool, and the photo is used well.
UXBRIDGE TIMES-JOURNAL Ce Klemenz captured a touching moment of remembrance and observance. This photo should, however, have been used much larger.
GENERAL COMMENT Plenty of originality and imagination was on display in the entries in this category. The photographers are to be commended for challenging themselves to come up with fresh takes on old tropes. One note – a very nice photo was overwhelmed and ruined by huge yellow type on the pic.
Third Place SARNIA/LAMBTON THIS WEEK Heather Wright froze an image of education and understanding at a school assembly. As with the second-place entry, I would have used this pic larger.
JUDGE Richard Dal Monte
Richard Dal Monte is editor of The Tri-City News, a twice-weekly community newspaper serving the cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, BC, who has worked as a journalist for more than 26 years.
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2012 BNC Awards Results
Premier Award – Photography
BEST FEATURE PHOTO CIRC. -9,999
Number of entries: 26
First Place
HALIBURTON COUNTY ECHO Simple, strong and striking, Darren Lum’s entry is a lovely portrait of a young athlete that gives the Echo’s front page outstanding impact.
Second Place NIAGARA THIS WEEK, TOWN CRIER Excellent composition: Gord Downey’s face, the darkening sky and the Hip’s dedicated fans – Steve Henschel captured it all. I could have done without the large head and cutline within the photo.
HONOURABLE MENTION
Gravenhurst Banner – Bev McMullen’s photo captures a striking moment on a blue-sky day. Good use of negative space is somewhat hurt, however, by placement of the cutline in that space. My advice: Don’t mess with a good pic.
GENERAL COMMENT The winners in this category are head and shoulders above the majority of the entries. The definition of a feature pic isn’t just that it’s not a news photo. One additional note: I can’t decide whether the photo of a teacher duct-taped to a school gym wall is a) the most egregious use of a cutout I’ve ever seen or b) kind of cool.
Third Place KINCARDINE INDEPENDENT Less is more in Josh Howald’s caber toss pic: the effort and the disappearing caber. I would have liked to see the photo played bigger to maximize its impact (I would have run it top to bottom and adjusted everything else around it).
JUDGE Richard Dal Monte
Richard Dal Monte is editor of The Tri-City News, a twice-weekly community newspaper serving the cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, BC, who has worked as a journalist for more than 26 years.
2012 BNC Awards Results
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Premier Award – Photography
BEST PHOTO LAYOUT
Number of entries: 78
First Place CLARINGTON THIS WEEK A couple of things m make this the winner. Ron Pietroniro does an excellent job not only of shooting the action but also of varying the looks. The shots alternate between tight and from a distance. The layout also shines by varying picture sizes and making terrific use of the space.
Second Place HONOURABLE MENTION Uxbridge Times-Journal – I like the strong use of main art and the choice and placement of the other photos. The tiny picture above the copy was a great idea.
GENERAL COMMENT For these pages to pop, you need a photographer with an eye for long and short views and a desker who finds their own graphic vision in the art. The winners all had elements of both. There was a lot of beautiful work to choose from; congratulations to all who entered.
JUDGE
ELMIRA-WOOLWICH OBSERVER It’s easy to overuse cutouts in layout but I thought they were very effective here. Colin Dewar and Leanne Boron use a wide variety of photos that give an excellent taste of what went on.
Third Place BARRY’S BAY, THE VALLEY GAZETTE Gregory Zawidzki has one of those deceptively simple ideas that, in the right hands, comes alive. The choice of the black background with the cutout of the butterfly at the bottom right is genius.
Perry Bergson Perry Bergson is the managing editor of the Prince Albert Daily Herald, Saskatchewan’s third largest daily. The Portage la Prairie, Man., native has 25 years of experience in newspapers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and will always be thankful for the two years spent at a weekly that launched his career. He has two decades of experience working on the news desk, often doing the sort of design found in this competition. 40
2012 BNC Awards Results
BEST SPORTS PHOTO
Premier Award – Photography Number of entries: 76
First Place MISSISSAUGA NEWS
The excellence of this photo by Fred Loek won out. It has everything – movement, expression, crispness. Everywhere you look in the photo there is something interesting to see, yet the focus is clear. This is what a sports photo is all about – catching the unexpected drama as it happens. However, a warning that this entry only squeaked out the win, due to the extreme over-busyness of the layout. I would have liked to see the photo played bigger. These factors almost – almost – knocked it out of contention. In the end, I decided that the excellence of the photograph itself managed to overcome its environment sufficiently to put it on top.
Second Place AJAX/PICKERING NEWS ADVERTISER
HONOURABLE MENTION Toronto Beach/Riverdale Mirror – Excellent photograph, it was a very tough choice to leave this out of the top three. Dan Pearce did a great job capturing the action. Excellent.
GENERAL COMMENT This was an outstanding set of photographs to judge. It made my job both more fun and more difficult. Some of the characteristics shared by the top scoring photos were good, sharp focus, capturing a moment in time, and stopping the action – this is sports, after all.
JUDGE
This is an outstanding technical photo. From the angle to the crispness of it, Ron Pietroniro did a superb job. It’s interesting that in the background of the photo you can see other photographers trying to capture the same subject, but at a more traditional angle that would put the sun on the jumper’s face, rather than what was done so effectively here, using the shadows. A great example of what you can do when you think outside the box. The clean layout that highlighted the photograph is also greatly appreciated.
Third Place BURLINGTON POST
There were a couple of great celebration shots entered, but this one really stood out. Eric Riehl has captured the emotion of the moment. The three distinct elements in the photo, the group of girls standing, the girl on the ground, and the girl with the crutches, combine to make this a great sports photo. Well done.
Andrea Rondeau
Andrea Rondeau is the editor of the Cowichan Valley Citizen newspaper in Duncan, British Columbia. She began her journalism career with a degree from the University of King’s College in Halifax, N.S., then went to work at the Yarmouth Vanguard newspaper. A move to B.C. in 2004 saw her land on Vancouver Island at the Citizen, where she started out filling in for a maternity leave. She hasn’t left since. From reporter/photographer she made the jump to the editor’s chair at the end of 2007. 2012 BNC Awards Results
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Premier Award – Photography
BEST SPOT NEWS PHOTO
Number of entries: 55
First Place WHITBY THIS WEEK
Ron Pietroniro took first place be because from the moment I saw the photograph I was drawn into what was happening and I wanted to know more. It isn’t your typical fire coverage photograph, but it captures the essence of spot news photography in showing the elements of what’s happening, as well as the impact of the situation on those involved – in this case the firefighters battling not only the heat of a fire but that of Mother Nature. The firefighter in the background makes the photograph awardwinning as much as the main subjects. Great photo.
Second Place SUDBURY NORTHERN LIFE
GENERAL COMMENT The key element that makes a great spot news photo, and what is also the biggest challenge, is being ‘on the spot.’ Accomplishing this allows the photographer to capture the two most valuable components of outstanding photographs, no matter if the photographs are of the spot news, sports or feature variety – what’s happening and human impact. Unfortunately, not all entries in this category came close to meeting these two elements, and even more disappointing it could easily be seen several photographs were ‘set-up’ or staged. Others were taken well after the ‘action,’ thus losing the adrenaline rush of the event and the human emotion connected to what was happening. All that being said, the photographs overall, whether good spot news photographs or not, were of good quality in terms of contrast, focus and composition.
JUDGE
It was very difficult to place this photograph in second place, as it too is outstanding, meeting all the important criteria in what one would be looking for in a great spot news photo. Darren MacDonald captured the seriousness of what was taking place in the faces of the law enforcement officers, as well as the emotion of one of the people involved.
Third Place PETERBOROUGH THIS WEEK Third place is a photo that also caught my eye from the first time I saw it, as it shows emotion on two levels in a moment that probably only lasted a little while. A minute or two earlier or later probably would not have given photographer Lance Anderson the same image.
Kevin Higgins During his 19-year community newspaper career, Kevin Higgins has been a reporter, editor, community newspaper business manager, and community newspaper office manager. Since 2007, he has been the editor of The Beacon in Gander, NL, which is one of the largest community newspapers in the province. Throughout these years, he has won numerous Atlantic Canada and national awards for reporting, editorial writing, photography and page design.
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2012 BNC Awards Results
BEST NEWS PHOTO
Premier Award – Photography Number of entries: 61
First Place TORONTO BLOOR WEST VILLAGER This photograph really grabs the viewer’s attention. There are so many emotions featured in the shot – the danger and destruction of the playground structure is obvious as is the confusion and sadness on the child’s face. This shot speaks volumes exhibiting the many emotions present from the aftermath of an arson/vandalism incident. Excellent work Ian Kelso!
Second Place RAINY RIVER RECORD Ken Johnston takes a wonderful photo capturing a horrific and destructive news event that will forever be part of the community’s history. The firefighters look so small and powerless as they do their best to battle this huge, destructive monster. “Fighting a losing battle” really sums it up.
GENERAL COMMENT Judging this class was a very difficult task. I was overwhelmed with many great entries and it was extremely difficult to narrow it down to just a few. This class proved that there are many talented photographers working for newspapers and each one should be commended for a job well done. There were many great shots and I wish everyone could be honoured with an award. Keep up the great work!
Third Place BRANT NEWS This is a powerful, yet fun photo by Mike Machado, that I imagine would make viewers feel the refreshing impact of cool water during a summer heat wave. The expression on the boy’s face is priceless as he finds a great way to beat the heat.
JUDGE Darryl Holyk
Darryl Holyk began working at The Minnedosa Tribune, in Minnedosa, MB as a reporter/photographer in 2001. Five years later, he was promoted to Editor and in 2008 purchased the historic newspaper becoming the ninth publisher since it was founded in 1883. Since 2009, Darryl has served as a director on the Manitoba Community Newspapers Association (MCNA) Board of Directors. Holyk’s photo of the arson of the Minnedosa United Church appeared in publications and other news media across the country and earned him a First Place Best Spot News Photo from MCNA in 2007. 2012 BNC Awards Results
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Premier Award – Photography Number of entries: 16
PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
First Place
NORTHUMBERLAND NEWS – KAREN LONGWELL Dramatic spot new news and sports action images combined with a creative photo illustration distinguished Karen Longwell’s submission as a clear winner.
Second Place BURLINGTON POST – ERIC RIEHL Impressive story-telling photographs and a strong sensitivity to everyday community events distinguished the Burlington Post submission and secured second place.
HONOURABLE MENTION London Community News – Mike Maloney – Solid technique, a sense of the moment and creative storytelling distinguished the London Community News submission.
GENERAL COMMENT Dramatic spot news and sports action submissions were most impressive this year. Some entrants fell short on their technically enhanced submissions and there was a conspicuous absence of pictures with a strong sense of humanity or the human condition. Overall, submissions this year represented strong technical achievement.
Third Place OSHAWA THIS WEEK – SABRINA BYRNES A sense of the moment combined with a strong graphic sense of composition secured third place for the Oshawa This Week submission.
JUDGE Joe Callahan Joe Callahan teaches photography and is coordinator of the Journalism-Online, Print and Broadcast program at Loyalist College of Applied Arts and Technology in Belleville, Ontario. With the support of the OCNA, he completed a Master’s degree in June 2010 focusing on journalism standards and accreditation. His research paper, Newsroom Practices at Ontario Newspapers - A Focus on Accuracy was published by Athabasca University.
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2012 BNC Awards Results
CARTOONIST OF THE YEAR
Premier Award – Cartoon Number of entries: 10
First Place OSHAWA EXPRESS – JIM BRADFORD Call it as he see’s it, no bars hold, gut wrench impact, modern day version of French revolution grapeshot.
Second Place OTTAWA HILL TIMES – MICHAEL DEADDER Tough call between first and second place selection, love the art work, good impact with few words.
HONOURABLE MENTION Scugog Standard – Walt Radda – Almost there, keep it up!
GENERAL COMMENT The most difficult component I find personally is judging the impact when you compare a paper from a larger center such as Ottawa to small town papers where the issues are minor in comparison. It’s tempting to look past the size of the issue and focus on how the cartoonist is able to communicate the impact of the issue. With the voting this year there were 3 entries that I battled with in their placement. Extremely tough, all winners.
Third Place BRANT NEWS – DAVE MCCREARY Can definitely relate to one coffee a day.
JUDGE Lawrence Woodall Lawrence Woodall is a wilderness/bear guide that spends six months of the year in the mountains and coastal regions of BC, hunting with cameras. He shares his knowledge of the wilderness through columns in the North Island Gazette and guest appearances in other papers. His time away from humanity gives him a fresh perspective in the creation of editorial cartoons, ignoring political correctness.
2012 BNC Awards Results
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Premier Award – Layout Number of entries: 6
First Place
COMMUNITY SERVICE
WHAT’S UP MUSKOKA The Muskoka Awards – A wonderful cam campaign highlighting the achievements of those who contribute to the success of the local area. This is especially evident in the space provided to honour each nominee, not just the winners. One really gets the sense this newspaper takes great pride in being an active and integral part of the community.
Second Place OAKVILLE BEAVER Sheridan College Celebrating Success – This joint project with a local college provided an excellent opportunity for the newspaper to engage many sectors of the community while helping mentor the leaders of tomorrow. It also clearly showed the newspaper’s ties and commitment to the local area.
GENERAL COMMENT All of the entries proved community newspapers have an important role to play in the achievements and well-being of the people they serve. These newspapers don’t just inform and entertain, but they engage and make a positive difference in their readers’ lives. Congratulations to all of the nominees.
JUDGE
Third Place SCUGOG STANDARD Chrome by the Lake Classic Car Show and Shine – An all-around enjoyable showcase of this newspaper’s commitment and service to the local area. The editorial copy and advertising engaged and entertained – and the event itself looks to have been quite lively and well-received by the entire community.
Christopher Vaughan Christopher Vaughan is editor-manager of The Georgian community newspaper in Stephenville, NL. He was promoted to his current role in early 2012 after working as The Georgian’s reporter and editor. He earned a B.A. from Memorial University and a B.J. from the University of King’s College.
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2012 BNC Awards Results
Sponsored by YOUNG DRIVERS OF CANADA
BEST VERTICAL PRODUCT
Premier Award – Layout Number of entries: 36
First Place
FORT FRANCES TIMES
Discover Fort Frances and Rainy River District – Attractive layout, engaging subject matter, to the point and direct. Geared to people unfamiliar with the area and immediately useful. Mapping with locations and insets layed out with local photography gave a very natural flow.
Second Place BRACEBRIDGE EXAMINER Cottage Under Construction – Attractive and uncluttered layout, very useful subject matter. Stayed on topic and remained immediately useful. Plenty of gorgeous display ads that did not crowd or chop up editorial. Remained local, and on topic with consistent quality.
Third Place BARRY’S BAY, THE VALLEY GAZETTE GENERAL COMMENT Very competitive category. Half of the entries were within five points of each other in total score, with many identical totals. In fact there was a six way tie for fourth place. With such a broad spectrum in subject matter, it was very difficult to pick favorites since many appealed to me personally for different reasons. I had to stick to the judging criteria as close as possible and just see where things ended up.
Madawaska Valley & Neighbours – Interesting vignettes of each community. Topical photography for each region, but not too much repetition. Great format for a guide to bring along on adventures. Plenty of advertising revenue, but kept a decent balance with editorial.
JUDGE Ted Brewer Ted Brewer has been involved in sales and marketing for some of Canada’s largest corporations for over 20 years and most of that time has been spent in a National Accounts sales environment. He has a BA from the University of Guelph and has earned many sales and marketing accreditations over the years to grow and foster his professional development. He is always willing to think outside the box. Since joining AdReach as a National Accounts Manager six years ago, Ted has sold hundreds of thousands of advertising into Ontario’s Community Newspapers and has become an invaluable resource to clients, agencies and publishers alike. 2012 BNC Awards Results
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Premier Award – Front Page
BEST FRONT PAGE CIRC. 10,000+
Number of entries: 65
First Place BURLINGTON POST The front p page of the this paper provides a dramatic and unforgettable story with great photographs. The page draws in the readers and gives enough pertinent information on the story but still makes them want to delve deeper into the paper. Good balance between the visual and the written story. The Burlington Post poses questions while reporting on what is known and doesn’t overly dramatize with “accident” photos. A great layout overall, which leads me to believe the entire paper has the same care and attention.
Second Place NIAGARA THIS WEEK, WELLAND
HONOURABLE MENTION Niagara this Week, Niagara Falls
GENERAL COMMENT The process of going through these entries was a good way to remind oneself of what a community newspaper is. In judging, I looked for a “traditional” layout which is comprised of great photos, local content and pleasing layout. Many of the entries had front pages which were laid out in a magazine style with little or no written copy so it was difficult to judge “writing.” Most had amazing photos and many had creative layout. I looked for “interest” below the fold and length of front page stories. Many newspapers carried all of the front pages stories to the inside, where I would have liked to see a complete story on the front page. Judging them all together was a difficult task but in the end the winners exemplified “community” newspapers. It is gratifying to see that newspapers still exist and are dedicated to writing about the people and events in their community. Overall, excellent selections and job well done by all entrants. Only a few points, in many cases, separated the top three winners from the others.
JUDGE
A pleasing layout with a great photo. A picture really is worth a thousand words. The photo draws the attention without being the entire focus of the front page. The teasers do not over power and have enough interest to make you want to turn the pages. Interesting above and below the fold. It was pleasing to see so many community newspapers strive to engage their readers from the first page onwards.
Third Place PORT PERRY STAR
This front page caught my attention because of the untraditional take on Rememberance Day. It is softly poignant and the photo speaks for itself. The story and the photo relate making for a great front page. Community newspapers are all about giving coverage to those “local” stories and people who make the news in the community.
Pirjo Raits For the past 20 years, Pirjo Raits has worked in the community newspaper fraternity. She has seen the newspaper industry change from the cut and paste days to the advent of computers and an online presence. She believes in the importance of local newspapers and the role they play in forging communities, especially in this day and age of social media. She is an award-winning writer and photographer who has worked as a reporter and editor for community newspapers in British Columbia. She has been the editor of the Sooke News Mirror for the past eight years. 48
2012 BNC Awards Results
Sponsored by LAURENTIAN PUBLISHING
BEST FRONT PAGE
Premier Award – Front Page Number of entries: 31
First Place
CIRC. -9,999
COBDEN SUN
It was a toss up between first and second. This won out because only one of the three stories was carried over. Any more than one, in my opinion, loses the reader because some readers will never flip back and forth like they would have to if they had three stories carried over. I liked the placement and the positioning of photos at a slant for the On The Inside, as well as the listing of the other less important stories, but important in my opinion to draw readers to the inside, whether it be their favourite puzzle or columnists. The page lost some points because, although balanced, it was three vertical columns of news. With a little work, I think the design in layout could have been better.
Second Place FORT FRANCES TIMES
Content and quality of writing were very good and the page well balanced with good photos. However, in my opinion, it lost reader appeal when it came to all three stories being carry overs and, worse yet, they were all carried over in mid-sentence. Very good use of varying size and fonts in the headlines. On The Inside, I prefer to see the regular items including columnists, puzzles and classifieds get some attention on front page to draw all types of readers to the inside pages.
HONOURABLE MENTION West Carleton Review EMC
GENERAL COMMENT This was a very difficult category to judge as all 31 were good, but to float up to the top, a page had to be extra good. So it was the small things that gave extra points. Some had no news on front so it was difficult to give any points for ‘quality of writing’, so watch when choosing an entry that you know how the points are being distributed. Good use of headlines and variations of fonts and size but not so much use of ‘pull quotes’ which would have helped break up some of the long stories. White space is also valuable as well as balance in layout and design. Some front pages had the advertising over power the news. My biggest complaint was the carry over stories and many in mid sentence, even some in mid word. The most carry over stories on the front page should be one, in my opinion. Despite a great deal of time commitment, it was a pleasure to glimpse into the world of Ontario newspapers.
JUDGE
Third Place NEW HAMBURG INDEPENDENT
The ‘ragged right’ in the news copy tended to give valuable white space on front page and therefore easier for the reader. I like the On The Inside layout however, some might miss the sports item. Putting the catch words in red did help but maybe the CCNA Blue ribbon divided it from the INSIDE title too much. As I previously mentioned in the first two winning entries, the value of the items including letters, classifieds, kit’s corner being on front page adds value to the reader but a carry over in mid sentence lost points.
Joyce Webster Joyce Webster has been in the community newspaper business for 32 years, with 27 of those as the publisher/owner of the (Coronation, Ab.) East Central Alberta Review. Not having studied journalism, she has taken it upon herself throughout the 27 years to absorb as much as she can through courses on design, writing and photography and has won a substantial number of awards. Webster is a member of AWNA and CCNA and ISWNE (International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors) where she has received invaluable information in critiquing newspapers.
Sponsored by LAURENTIAN PUBLISHING
2012 BNC Awards Results
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Premier Award – Section/Series
BEST SPORTS SECTION
Number of entries: 39
First Place BURLINGTON POST A combination of dynamic writin writing, vibrant photography and exciting layout completes the triple-threat that makes this a winning sports section. Even a casual reader would feel the enthusiasm that Post reporters and photographers put into their work.
Second Place KINCARDINE INDEPENDENT Josh Howald has solid reporting skills and is a capable photographer with a deep understanding of a wide variety of sports that he pursues relentlessly. And he writes a column, too, so nothing seems to slow him down.
GENERAL COMMENT The 39 entries in the Best Sports Section category were a challenge to judge due to the largely overall degree of excellence found in each newspaper. This category included community newspapers both large and small. Some were blessed by being located where major amateur sports are played and others relied largely on high school and youth activities. It was gratifying to see the quality of reporting, writing, photography and presentation at all levels. The three newspapers selected in this category were nominated for entirely different reasons. Each offered great strengths in their own particular way. It would be worthwhile for every newspaper entered in this category to take a close look at what the nominees have done to get to the head of their class
Third Place BRACEBRIDGE EXAMINER
This newspaper really knows how to put the “community” into local sports reporting. It understands the significance of local sporting events, capitalizes on the area’s unique activities and puts it all together in a pleasant package.
JUDGE Brian McAndrew Brian McAndrew began his newspaper career at the Tilbury Times in the mid-1970s before moving on to the Woodstock Sentinel-Review and The Windsor Star. He spent 27 years at the Toronto Star as a reporter, city assignment editor and associate sports editor. He is the co-author of two books --Soft Target: How the Indian Intelligence Service Penetrated Canada (1989) following the Air-India bombing in 1985 and Niagara Parks Butterflies (2000). 50
2012 BNC Awards Results
Sponsored by METROLAND MEDIA GROUP LTD., SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO DIVISION
SPECIAL SECTION
Premier Award – Section/Series
CIRC. 10,000+
Number of entries: 31
First Place
HUNTSVILLE FORESTER The Huntsville Forester’s Tribute to Veterans stands out for several reasons: The advertising support was tremendous, a clear sign of the community’s support for veterans and for the project. The quality of editorial content was rich and varied, lots of people who had beautiful stories to tell, and they were all wonderfully written and presented. The special section was designed and laid out very nicely and was incredibly visually appealing.
Second Place BARRIE ADVANCE The Barrie Advance’s special section to Joe Anderson was a wonderful tribute to an individual who clearly had an impact on the entire community. Advertising support was spectacular and the editorial content was superb. The section was also visually appealing and presented.
HONOURABLE MENTION Muskoka, What’s Up Muskoka – Muskoka Antique & Classic Boating 2012 – Simply stunning visually!
GENERAL COMMENT This was a difficult category to judge because all of the entries submitted were creative, informative and incredibly well done. I enjoyed reading them all and each newspaper should be proud of their efforts to highlight their communities and community newspapers.
Third Place NIAGARA THIS WEEK, NIAGARA FALLS Niagara This Week’s presentation of Nik Wallenda’s walk across Niagara Falls was a wonderful combination of news, history and education combined with advertising that is sure to be kept by readers for many years to come.
JUDGE Jackie Jardine Jackie Jardine is the editor of The Advocate, a weekly newspaper in Pictou, Nova Scotia that boasts a strong circulation base and loyal readership. The newspaper’s focus is local, people-focused news, which she believes to be cornerstones of community newspapers. In addition to The Advocate, she is also the editor for two monthly magazines – The Light, which focuses on the North Shore of Nova Scotia, and the Atlantic Fisherman magazine which is circulated throughout the Atlantic Provinces. 2012 BNC Awards Results
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Premier Award – Section/Series
SPECIAL SECTION CIRC. - 9,999
Number of entries: 13
First Place COBDEN SUN The Cobden Sun rose to the top of the category with its farming supplement “Get to know your neighbours.” The issue was a combination of excellent printing and presentation with lots of colour complementing interesting and diverse stories. Well supported by advertisers, thanks for raising the standard for us all.
Second Place EGANVILLE LEADER The Eganville Leader with its colourful St. Patrick’s Day edition including photos of the Emerald Isle, stories of local Irish fans and activities for the leprechaun in all of us falls just short of the gold pot but nevertheless garners recognition for second best in the category.
HONOURABLE MENTION Alexandria Glengarry News & New Hamburg Independent – Honourable mention should go to the Glengarry News for its creative editorial writing about attending the Glengarry Highland Games and the New Hamburg Independent’s Face of the Future issue, a novel way to include youth in the paper and the community.
GENERAL COMMENT This year’s entrants celebrated everything from anniversaries to St. Patrick’s Day and illustrating the diversity of the cultures in the communities in which the newspapers serve.
JUDGE
Brian Lazzuri
Third Place BARRY’S BAY, THE VALLEY GAZETTE
The Valley Gazette’s Christmas issue, for its strong presentation and layout, is third. The emotional story of a family overcoming tragedy was an emotional and excellent read.
Brian Lazzuri is managing editor of the Casket newspaper, Canada’s oldest weekly newspaper. Establishing in 1852, the Casket has a circulation of 4,000 and serves as the community newspaper for Antigonish, N.S. As managing editor he has helped launch the Quad County EXTRA, a total market vehicle reaching more than 20,000 homes in the Strait Area, instituted a redesign in the Casket and developed an on-line presence for the paper. In 2011 and 2012, the Casket was honoured by the Canadian Community Newspaper Association with blue ribbons, finishing second in class in the 2012 Better Newspaper Competition. The Atlantic Community Newspaper Association has recognized Lazzuri with for his editorial writing and the Casket and its employees for various categories. Brian and his wife Clare live in Ashdale with their five children where he enjoys spending time with his family, reading, politics, sports and planting and growing a vegetable garden, just not weeding it. 52
2012 BNC Awards Results
BEST CREATIVE AD
Premier Award – Advertising Number of entries: 42
First Place MISSISSAUGA NEWS
Great creativity by Azam Baqa. Iceberg concept works and well thought out. Good use of colours.
Second Place BURLINGTON POST Easy to read ad. Right to the point.
HONOURABLE MENTION Sudbury Northern Life – Interesting concept for the usage of QR codes.
GENERAL COMMENT Too much text diminishes the visual and creative impact of an ad.
Third Place ORILLIA TODAY Arlene Blackwood has an interesting use of golf balls to make the point.
JUDGE George Guzmas
George Guzmas has been working in the media field for the last 30 years including 8 years on Greek Radio and 12 years at his self produced Greek Television program. He is co-owner and co publisher with his partner George Bakoyannis of 4 newspapers in the Greater Island of Montreal all of them members of the QCNA. - The Laval News, The North Shore News, The Parc Extension News and The Greek Canadian News with a total circulation of over 70 000 every two weeks and a readership of 300 000 readers. Their newspapers have been awarded throughout the years with more than 40 awards in various editorial and content competitions. In 2008 and again in 2012, Mr. Guzmas received from Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor The Honourable David C. Onley the award of distinguished services to the Canadian society by the Media Council Of Canada. In 2012 he was also the recipient of the Queen Elisabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for his media career and his service to the Canadian society. 2012 BNC Awards Results
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Premier Award – Advertising
IN HOUSE PROMOTION
Number of entries: 23
First Place CREEMORE ECHO Really nice creative aadapt by Sara Hershoff. It is a simple idea that promotes the paper on your doorstep. Great job.
Second Place BRANT NEWS I love that this is interactive and has a life beyond reading it on the page. Almost first place...so close...
HONOURABLE MENTION Markham Economist & Sun – I would definitely stop and look at this page...and there’s a lot of fun here.
GENERAL COMMENT The winners listed really “stood above the crowd” in the category by either being very visually appealing or very interactive.
Third Place ELMIRA-WOOLWICH OBSERVER Really effective. Pat Merlihan has a really well designed ad.
JUDGE
Wayne Aubert
Wayne Aubert is a Professor and the Program Coordinator for the Advertising Program at Mohawk College in Hamilton Ontario. He has over 25 years of advertising industry experience and is also a Program Director with the Institute of Communication Agencies (ICA) in Toronto.
54
2012 BNC Awards Results
LOCAL RETAIL LAYOUT
Premier Award – Advertising Number of entries: 32
First Place
ORANGEVILLE BANNER The group shot felt a little crowded (that’s a lot of people to fit in!) but Jennifer Hannan took a lot of content and has done the layout quite nicely.
Second Place KAWARTHA LAKES/NORTH DURHAM CAPS COMMUNITY NEWS Good choice on photography...made me pause to admire the shots.
HONOURABLE MENTION Nunavut News/North – It can’t be easy having to do ads in both languages...but Petra Ehrke has done a nice job!
GENERAL COMMENT This category felt “a little crowded” on submissions. The winning entries truly had some discretion on layout and created relatively clean ads compared to some of the other submissions which were a bit disappointing this year.
Third Place MILTON CANADIAN CHAMPION Tim Coles uses a very appealing choice of colours and images.
JUDGE
Wayne Aubert
Wayne Aubert is a Professor and the Program Coordinator for the Advertising Program at Mohawk College in Hamilton Ontario. He has over 25 years of advertising industry experience and is also a Program Director with the Institute of Communication Agencies (ICA) in Toronto.
Sponsored by METRO CREATIVE GRAPHICS
2012 BNC Awards Results
55
Premier Award – Advertising
ORIGINAL AD IDEA CIRC. 10,000+
Number of entries: 19
First Place WHAT’S UP MUSKOKA Very well put together product. Easy and attractive. Well done!
Second Place KAWARTHA LAKES/NORTH DURHAM CAPS COMMUNITY NEWS Packs alot of punch for the advertisers. Great job.
HONOURABLE MENTION Collingwood/Wasaga Connection – What a wonderful concept. Well thought out campaign.
GENERAL COMMENT Seeing these projects and ad campaigns come together in print was a rewarding experience for me. The process was easy to follow and the shared ideas are wonderful. All of the entrants should be proud of a job well done. Each one had a variety of positives that I look for when creating an ad/campaign. Keep the ideas flowing. They are a valuable tool for the rest of us!
JUDGE
Mitzi Munro
Third Place WATERDOWN FLAMBOROUGH REVIEW Alistair Murray has a very attractive page, great design and impact.
The Prince Albert Daily Herald has been a pillar of the community for over 100 years. Mitzi started as an Advertising Sales Representative for the Daily Herald in 1980-83, left and had two children, and returned full time in April of 1996. She presently has two grandchildren and loves every minute of it! In January of 2011 she obtained the role of Advertising Director. Newspaper is something that is a passion of hers. Our newspaper is proud to be part of Transcontinental Media and has moved into the digital age offering many online products as well as mobile platforms. They pride themselves with being a multi-media outlet for their clients and advertisers. Mitzi manages a staff of eight and they are always seeking to create the ideal campaign for their clients. Thank you for the opportunity to judge these wonderful projects. Sharing of ideas creates great results for anyone involved in marketing. 56
2012 BNC Awards Results
ORIGINAL AD IDEA
Premier Award – Advertising
CIRC. -9,999
Number of entries: 10
First Place
BARRY’S BAY, THE VALLEY GAZETTE Gregory Zawidzki has a beautiful visual. Great use of colour, simple, strong impact, good copy line. Very appetizing!
Second Place MANOTICK MESSENGER Good headline and copy, nice image. Relayed the message in an interesting way. Well put together overall.
GENERAL COMMENT Very creative! In many cases there was a lot of information to include, sponsors, etc., yet the designs weren’t sacrificed. Also some great copy lines that really relayed the message well.
Third Place WINGHAM ADVANCE TIMES Very clean layout for a lot of information. Liked the school bus background. Bright, cheerful and easy to read.
JUDGE Darlene Giles Darlene is the President of Dazzle Communications, a marketing communications company that provides online, print and broadcast marketing materials, media liaison, as well as business, PR and creative writing services. Prior to starting her consulting business, Darlene was Creative Director for SPAR Group and the former Wings & Ink. There she led the development of award-winning creative product for clients including Dun & Bradstreet, Honeywell, Xerox, Moneris Solutions, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, Lotus/IBM, Second Cup, Chubb Security and many more. Before joining Wings & Ink, Darlene worked as Advertising Manager with Caterpillar and as Creative Associate for a leading Atlantic Canada advertising agency. 2012 BNC Awards Results
57
Premier Award – Colour Number of entries: 27
USE OF PROCESS COLOUR First Place ELMIRA-WOOLWICH OBSERVER
Bright colours reflectin ecting the seasonality. Leanne Boron’s choice of colours unifies the message and makes the ad easy to navigate.
Second Place COBDEN SUN Tara Yourth has a strong use of colour to pull together many diverse messages.
HONOURABLE MENTION Midland/Penetanguishene Mirror – Krista Kiefer uses bright colours reflecting the product and to attract the consumer eye.
Third Place OAKVILLE BEAVER Stylish way to use colour to tell the story.
GENERAL COMMENT Many great entries with strong design and original ideas on ways to utilize colour to break through and attract the consumer’s eye.
JUDGE Leslie Kellow-Hall
Leslie Kellow-Hall is the VP of Production for Fuel Advertising in Toronto. Leslie has more than 30 years experience in the marketing communications industry in the production and operations areas. Leslie has managed interactive and print studios, production management and operation departments in several major and boutique agencies. Leslie’s experience spans the gamut of interactive, CRM and traditional mass advertising. Leslie is an instructor with the Institute of Communication Agencies and has taught the Certified Print Production Practitioner’s course for 15 years. Leslie has sat on the Mohawk College Marketing Communication Advisory Board for five years. 58
2012 BNC Awards Results
Premier Award – Online Number of entries: 18
BEST COMMUNITY WEBSITE/ WEBPORTAL CIRC. +10,000 First Place MISSISSAUGA NEWS
The Mississauga News delivers great content consistently on a clean and easy to navigate site. The news is provided through the medium that most effectively delivers the story providing a delightful variety of multi-media options throughout the site.
Second Place CALEDON ENTERPRISE
The positioning of the Community Contributions buttons on the home page – embedded with top stories – sends a powerful message about community involvement in the paper which is borne out online.
GENERAL COMMENT There were some outstanding examples of online papers in this category. Papers that clearly understand that building readership is key whether the paper in hand is on newsprint or a tablet/iPad. There were a surprising number of entries this year with great online foundations but sporting abandoned content areas, sporadic updates or broken links. Investing time and resources in your online product is an investment in your future and can’t be abandoned as belts are tightened. Be inspired by our finalists as they use tried and true tools - with an online twist – for building loyal readers for years to come.
Third Place THUNDER BAY SOURCE The Source’s site effectively blends a variety of online tools to deliver local news and events. Reader engagement is high based on the astounding number of comments on most articles.
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 working with the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce on their websites and providing online guidance for their 1500 members. Sponsored by GIANT TIGER STORES LIMITED
2012 BNC Awards Results
59
Premier Award – Online Number of entries: 7
BEST COMMUNITY WEBSITE/ WEBPORTAL CIRC. -9,999 First Place
MANITOULIN EXPOSITOR The Expositor’s commitment to interacting with its readers is a strong tool in building loyal readers. Contests and news polls allow for a more dynamic and immediate interaction. Great use of online functionality for classifieds & employment.
Second Place SIOUX LOOKOUT WAWATAY NEWS Great integration of all facets of media video, audio and articles both as stand alone areas on the site as well as through multimedia articles. Impressive use of online technology to integrate multilingual needs.
GENERAL COMMENT These community papers may deliver under 9,999 in print but their online goals aren’t restrained by their delivery zones. I was impressed by the imagination and innovative ideas that each paper developed in order to better provide outstanding community coverage. It is this kind of will to succeed, and sheer grit in some cases, that has built community papers across the province and efforts like this make it clear that we will continue to do so for years to come.
Third Place CREEMORE ECHO
Cohesive community tools like the Creemore Echo’s community calendar are key to building a strong online product.
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 working with the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce on their websites and providing online guidance for their 1500 members. 60
2012 BNC Awards Results
Sponsored by GIANT TIGER STORES LIMITED
Premier Award – Online Number of entries: 12
ONLINE SPECIAL PROJECT/EVENT/ BREAKING NEWS COVERAGE
First Place OSHAWA THIS WEEK
London 2012 Olympics – A spectacular example of good planning and great execution providing the perfect platform for delivering high quality stories and photos. Even more impressive – hitting their revenue targets.
Second Place THUNDER BAY SOURCE Emergencies Declared – Great to see the integration of the community into delivering the story. I was impressed at the on-the-spot decision making that resulted in the paper rising to the challenge of providing key info as it happened as it was needed to a struggling community.
GENERAL COMMENT This category presented an impressive selection of special issues and breaking news coverage where journalists were able to leverage a broad band of tools from online to print to social media to multi-media presentations in order to deliver their message into the waiting hands of their community.
Third Place MISSISSAUGA NEWS Mississauga Judicial Inquiry – Very impressed by the online tools used like CoverItLive and the manner in which the coverage was organized to create easy to understand timelines and issues for a complicated story
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 working with the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce on their websites and providing online guidance for their 1500 members. 2012 BNC Awards Results
61
Premier Award – Online Number of entries: 14
SURFER’S SELECTION CIRC. 10,000+
First Place TORONTO BEACHRIVERDALE-EAST YORK TOWN CRIER
NEWSPAPER Toronto Beach-RiverdaleEast York Town Crier Toronto Today Elmira-Woolwich Observer Thunder Bay Source Burlington Post Oshawa This Week Ottawa Hill Times Mississauga News Sudbury Northern Life Vaughan Today Kawartha Lakes This Week Brant News Kitchener Post Waterdown Flamborough Review
WEBSITE
Second Place
Third Place
TORONTO TODAY
ELMIRA-WOOLWICH OBSERVER & THUNDER BAY SOURCE
1ST CHOICE 2ND CHOICE TOTAL VOTES WEIGHTED TOTAL RANK
www.mytowncrier.ca www.mytorontotoday.ca www.observerxtra.com www.tbnewswatch.com www.insidehalton.com www.durhamregion.com www.hilltimes.com www.mississauga.com www.northernlife.ca www.VaughanToday.ca www.MyKawartha.com www.brantnews.com www.kitchenerpost.ca
4 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 0
0 5 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 0 0
4 6 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 0 0
8 7 6 6 5 5 5 4 4 4 3 0 0
1 2 3 3 5 5 5 8 9 10 11 12 13
www.flamboroughreview.com
0
0
0
0
14
JUDGES OCNA MEMBERS Each OCNA Member Newspaper was given a chance to vote for the Surfers Selection Award. They were instructed to choose a first and second choice for the Best Website. Each First choice pick was given two points and each second choice pick was given one point.
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2012 BNC Awards Results
Premier Award – Online
SURFER’S SELECTION CIRC. -9,999
Number of entries: 4
First Place MANITOULIN EXPOSITOR
Second Place CREEMORE ECHO
Third Place BARRY’S BAY, THE VALLEY GAZETTE
NEWSPAPER
WEBSITE
Manitoulin Expositor Creemore Echo Barry’s Bay, The Valley Gazette Kincardine Independent
www.manitoulin.ca www.thecreemoreecho.com www.thevalleygazette.ca www.independent.on.ca
1ST CHOICE 2ND CHOICE TOTAL VOTES WEIGHTED TOTAL RANK 13 10 1 0
7 5 6 6
20 15 7 6
33 25 8 6
1 2 3 4
JUDGES OCNA MEMBERS Each OCNA Member Newspaper was given a chance to vote for the Surfers Selection Award. They were instructed to choose a first and second choice for the Best Website. Each First choice pick was given two points and each second choice pick was given one point.
2012 BNC Awards Results
63
COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY AWARDS
College / University Number of entries: 15
STUDENT FEATURE WRITING First Place
RYERSON UNIVERSITY – OTIENA ELLWAND This entry stood out for its clear, concise writing, its quality reporting and its insight into a challenge faced by all modern post-secondary institutions.
Second Place HUMBER COLLEGE – KATLYN FLEDDERUS Sports writing is often a difficult place to find new, interesting angles. Katlyn succeeded with this piece. Best layout of the bunch as well.
HONOURABLE MENTION Humber College – Michael Gregory – Some solid reporting about an important topic. Would have been stronger had Michael talked to some students affected by the grant situation.
GENERAL COMMENT The best stories in this category were the ones where it was clear the writers had done their homework. Some promising journalists here!
Third Place RYERSON UNIVERSITY – KATHERINE ENGQVIST
JUDGE
An always important topic gained new poignancy with Katherine’s profile of a student who had come to terms with her depression.
Brad Holden Brad Holden is the editor of the Creemore Echo. He’s a past winner of six OCNA Better Newspaper Awards and one CCNA Better Newspaper Award.
Sponsored by ONTARIO GENERAL CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION
2012 BNC Awards Results
65
STUDENT NEWS WRITING
College / University Number of entries: 14
First Place
RYERSON UNIVERSITY – KATIA DMITRIEVA Brillian written with a variety of sources. Through interviews with Brilliantly classmates and teachers, this story paints a vivid portrait of the deceased. Aided by strong photography.
Second Place HUMBER COLLEGE – ALEX CONSIGLIO A very close second. Solid writing and photography.
Third Place HONOURABLE MENTION Loyalist College – Sean Macey
RYERSON UNIVERSITY – SARAH ROBINSON
GENERAL COMMENT
An in-depth look at the difficulties students have accessing mental health support. Variety of sources adds immensely.
Overall, was very impressed with a calibre of writing from all entrants.
JUDGE
Scott Howard Scott Howard is the editor of the Brock Citizen, a newspaper serving the residents of Brock Township – a community in the north end of Durham Region.
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2012 BNC Awards Results
Sponsored by ONTARIO JOURNALISM EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION
STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHY
College / University Number of entries: 15
First Place
RYERSON UNIVERSITY – JOELLE TOMLINSON First place was an easy pick, a very nice image, with great contrast and colour. The photographer went out of their way to come back with a captivating photo. Well thought out and well planned.
HONOURABLE MENTION Niagara College – Chris Funston – It was nice to see that this photographer took the time to turn a mundane headshot into something a little different. Well done.
GENERAL COMMENT On a whole a rather poor crop of images. Some just did not belong in this competition. There were other images on the same page as the entries that were better examples of photography than those entered. The sports images in particular were very poorly executed. I feel that these young photographers have to push themselves a little more. I believe they are capable of much better work in the future.
Second Place
Third Place
LOYALIST COLLEGE – KRISTEN HAVEMAN
LOYALIST COLLEGE – DAN PEARCE
Nice photo from the annual polar plunge. Good reaction and well executed.
Nice image. Had to look twice to see what was actually happening in this photo. A cluttered background took away from the main focus of the photo.
JUDGE Ron Pietroniro
Ron recently began his 25th year in Metroland, all in the Durham Region. He is now serving as the Managing Editor of Multi Media after being a photographer for 22 years. Ron has been the recipient of over 20 awards for photographic excellence and covered the 2008 Beijing Olympics for Metroland. He helped to launch the award winning Night & Day book series in 2011 and 2012, a 24 hour one day book of photos and stories.
2012 BNC Awards Results
67
College / University Number of entries: 5
BEST COLLEGE / UNIVERSITY WEBSITE First Place
LOYALIST COLLEGE – QNET NEWS QNET News had consistent branding, colours and clear content hierarchy. The site had a nice slider on the homepage and featured many technical features such as RSS feeds, podcasts, videos and an online TV channel with newscasts. The addition of another advertising region could help improve their revenue streams. This site excelled in many aspects, making it the winner for this category.
Second Place RYERSON UNIVERSITY – THE RYERSONIAN
HONOURABLE MENTION Niagara College
GENERAL COMMENT All of the sites offered great solutions and are very valuable to their post-secondary institutions. The inclusion of community involvement funnels combined with proper revenue streams results in a complete and successful web property. If adopted, all of these properties will be top notch!
JUDGE
The Ryersonian had consistent branding and their site was clean and easy to read. The site contains live video and an online TV channel with newscasts. The addition of another advertising region could help improve their revenue streams. The header did not load in Internet Explorer which should be reviewed due to the browsers popularity. Certainly, a very close second place finish.
Third Place HUMBER COLLEGE – ET CETERA The Humber Et Cetera had good content hierarchy and a newsy feel. There were several advertising regions with properly targeted advertisements which will ensure proper revenue streams. The use of social feeds and buttons combined with the homepage slider and video made this site a top contender.
Mathieu Beausoliel Mathieu Beausoleil is the Web & Digital Media Manager with Northern Life in Sudbury. He’s the past winner of the 2011 OCNA Best Community Website/Webportal award and the 2012 CCNA Best Website Circulation 12,500 and over.
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2012 BNC Awards Results
2012 Community Award in Memory of Mary Knowles
Gerry Harvieux, Editor of the Tilbury Times Work for a cause – not for applause. Live life to express – not to impress. Don’t strive to make your presence noticed – just make your absence felt. These are the words written on a sign that hangs above Gerry Harvieux’s desk. Not only are they the words he lives by; they are also perfect words to represent who Gerry is as a person. Gerry is currently the editor of the Tilbury Times, a position he has held on and off for a combined total of 14 years. His career with the newspaper industry, however, began in 1985 when he was hired for his first reporter position at the Wallaceburg Courier Press. Later he was hired with the Tilbury Times and has served as editor three times, under four different owners. His name has become synonymous with the newspaper in the community. It’s evident that Gerry is as passionate for the newspaper as he is for his community, a place he has called home for more than 40 years. Gerry has been an active volunteer in his community for roughly 30 years. He has chaired various projects, lends a hand to others when necessary and is always willing to do whatever he can to make Tilbury the best it can be. One of Gerry’s most notable involvements includes the Tilbury Family Funfest. In 2009, when he first hopped on board, the long-standing event was dying. Over the years, Gerry has helped the event’s sponsorship grow from $5,000 to an amazing $40,000. An event that once drew 1,000 guests, now welcomes more than 5,000 over the course of three days. In 2011, while covering a Tilbury Chamber of Commerce meeting, Gerry was upset when he learned the group had no financial support to continue the annual Santa Claus Parade.
It was then that Gerry stepped forward and offered his time to organize the parade, promising he would find the funds to continue. Since then this event has grown and with the help of his constant promotion in the newspaper, groups who had not been involved for more than a decade, have begun to participate again. Despite all other commitments, Gerry is an active member of the Tilbury Rotary Club and works to promote their image and projects in the community. He helps provide poster and billboard designs and marketing advice to the Tilbury Drug Awareness Team. In the past he has served as a member of the Tilbury Optimist Club, the Tilbury Minor Hockey Association’s Executive Board and has volunteered with the Tilbury Youth Centre. Gerry has served as a volunteer judge for the OCNA Better Newspaper Competition and the OCNA Junior Citizen of the Year Awards. Gerry is always willing to help those in need. He is not one to turn the spotlight on himself. Instead, he prefers to downplay his efforts and focus the attention on those who helped him accomplish the various projects. The Mary Knowles Award is coordinated by the Ontario Community Newspapers Foundation. It wishes to recognize those in the community newspaper business who contribute their own time to the betterment of their communities. The award also recognizes the intimate connection community newspapers have with their communities. Congratulations to Gerry and all of this year’s nominees for showing such leadership and dedication to your communities.
2012 BNC Awards Results
69
Class 1 (Circ 1,999 & Under) Newspaper Gravenhurst Banner Barry’s Bay, The Valley Gazette Minden Times Cobden Sun Stayner Sun Elmira Independent Prescott Journal Barrys Bay This Week Blue Mountains CourierHerald Wingham Advance Times Meaford Express Deep River North Renfrew Times Arthur Enterprise News Rainy River Record
Front Page
Community News
Ed. & Op. Ed. Pages
Presentation
Photography
Advertising Content
Advertising Design
Classified Advertising
Local Features
150 130
150 127
100 81
100 85
100 78
100 82
100 81
50 31
50 32
123 103 113 111 101 85 104
124 112 116 107 109 100 108
62 81 80 72 76 69 60
82 72 82 76 78 83 78
75 72 77 63 75 73 80
78 77 73 82 77 74 79
79 82 76 80 77 75 78
25 21 16 31 22 24 17
90 77 90
100 83 96
81 65 76
68 64 69
65 63 57
72 82 76
72 77 76
97 70 87
98 92 68
69 48 54
72 54 68
75 45 64
63 77 62
61 72 68
Sports
Production Quality
Total
Rank
50 47
50 46
1000 819
1
41 46 31 37 32 36 30
37 38 36 42 38 41 25
48 45 47 42 37 43 39
774 749 747 744 722 704 698
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
24 28 26
35 33 25
21 38 15
40 41 38
668 653 644
9 10 11
17 25 15
23 27 13
25 27 5
39 35 43
639 571 547
12 13 14
Class 2 (Circ 2,000 to 3,499) Newspaper Winchester Press Kincardine Independent Burks Falls Almaguin News Parry Sound North Star New Hamburg Independent Bracebridge Examiner Haliburton County Echo St. Marys Journal Argus Mount Forest Confederate Exeter Times-Advocate
Front Page
Community News
Ed. & Op. Ed. Pages
Presentation
Photography
Advertising Content
Advertising Design
Classified Advertising
Local Features
150
150
100
100
100
100
100
50
50
123 106 114 120 99 100 100 102 90 88
94 101 125 98 100 117 97 82 92 83
58 59 71 71 63 64 58 57 61 52
65 63 53 66 60 58 62 57 58 50
64 68 54 57 55 49 61 53 61 45
71 75 78 65 77 69 63 58 58 58
64 75 71 71 75 65 63 58 62 55
21 23 24 18 17 17 20 18 18 15
29 26 30 34 34 26 27 27 22 18
Sports
Production Quality
Total
Rank
50
50
1000
42 38 14 21 32 31 37 38 32 23
39 34 31 36 33 33 37 37 33 20
670 668 665 657 645 631 626 588 586 508
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Production Quality
Total
Rank
Class 3 (Circ 3,500 - 6,499) Newspaper Eganville Leader Huntsville Forester Nunavut News/North Fort Frances Times New Liskeard Temiskaming Speaker Alexandria Glengarry News Parry Sound Beacon Star Brock Citizen
Front Page
Community News
Ed. & Op. Ed. Pages
Presentation
Photography
Advertising Content
Advertising Design
Classified Advertising
Local Features
Sports
150 135 125 107 127
150 136 135 142 130
100 82 79 75 80
100 78 79 88 77
100 83 75 71 79
100 82 83 78 76
100 85 82 76 75
50 29 27 27 26
50 32 36 42 28
50 39 40 41 42
50 44 40 41 42
1000 825 800 787 782
1 2 3 4
110 110 115 107
127 122 115 97
72 72 62 58
77 73 70 66
72 71 67 55
82 72 67 62
80 70 67 70
29 31 18 23
36 36 31 30
42 43 31 25
40 40 37 37
767 740 679 629
5 6 7 8
Production Quality
Total
Rank
Class 4 (Circ 6,500 to 12,499) Newspaper Ottawa Hill Times Niagara this Week, The Leader Niagara This Week, Town Crier Sioux Lookout Wawatay News Stouffville Sun-Tribune Port Perry Star Ottawa Embassy Innisfil Journal Arnprior Chronicle-Guide EMC Picton Gazette Uxbridge Times-Journal Manotick Messenger Wasaga Sun Scugog Standard Bradford West Gwillimbury Topic
Front Page
Community News
Ed. & Op. Ed. Pages
Presentation
Photography
Advertising Content
Advertising Design
Classified Advertising
Local Features
Sports
150 125
150 127
100 93
100 91
100 66
100 83
100 83
50 26
50 33
50 28
50 35
1000 790
1
123
124
78
77
78
92
92
19
43
28
33
787
2
101
113
83
68
79
95
91
30
38
38
41
777
3
132 125 122 133 115
137 122 124 138 108
86 90 78 91 72
89 88 71 85 87
81 65 78 76 83
77 82 91 77 90
79 83 89 84 88
18 25 18 17 26
27 30 41 29 32
9 27 27 9 17
39 33 30 27 40
774 770 769 766 758
4 5 6 7 8
105 100 103 107 102 93
122 107 103 110 95 103
73 73 70 67 82 82
72 72 72 73 73 63
75 75 77 73 72 72
77 87 85 83 80 83
77 83 85 85 85 82
28 28 26 23 23 26
42 37 37 30 38 27
43 30 28 33 28 30
32 32 35 36 35 35
745 723 721 721 712 696
9 10 11 12 13 14
103
95
77
63
73
77
77
27
33
22
28
675
15
Ed. & Op. Ed. Pages
Presentation
Photography
Advertising Content
Advertising Design
Production Quality
Total
Rank
Class 5 (Circ 12,500 - 22,499) Newspaper Elmira-Woolwich Observer Dundas Star News Renfrew Mercury EMC Collingwood/Wasaga Connection Waterdown Flamborough Review
70
Front Page
Community News
Classified Advertising
Local Features
Sports
150 135 107 127
150 130 109 122
100 83 81 76
100 82 74 66
100 77 66 61
100 78 77 68
100 77 77 72
50 26 35 29
50 37 27 29
50 42 29 37
50 38 39 29
1000 804 721 716
1 2 3
119
122
77
67
64
75
70
28
32
28
28
711
4
121
116
72
66
72
67
70
26
30
35
33
708
5
2012 BNC Awards Results
Class 5...
continued
Midland/Penetanguishene Mirror Orangeville Banner Kawartha Lakes This Week Niagara This Week, Fort Erie Post Ancaster News Lindsay Post Georgetown/Acton Independent & Free Press Caledon Enterprise Brighton/East Northumberland Independent Georgina Advocate Kawartha Lakes/North Durham CAPS Community News
102 108 117
102 102 100
70 65 73
72 70 72
70 63 73
70 70 67
70 72 60
28 29 30
30 27 17
38 33 17
37 32 35
688 671 660
6 7 8
90 98 102
108 100 87
75 77 70
62 68 73
53 55 63
70 72 68
70 72 70
30 27 16
32 27 17
32 23 18
35 30 37
657 648 621
9 10 11
93 107
95 98
67 58
70 52
53 55
67 67
65 70
28 28
17 20
27 27
32 30
613 611
12 13
85 98
93 80
67 63
60 53
62 58
62 60
67 57
26 28
22 23
28 10
24 32
595 563
14 15
83
73
23
47
43
62
62
8
20
0
32
453
16
Ed. & Op. Ed. Pages
Presentation
Photography
Advertising Content
Advertising Design
Production Quality
Total
Rank
Class 6 (Circ 22,500 - 44,999) Newspaper Muskoka, What’s Up Muskoka Stoney Creek News Whitby This Week Northumberland News Waterloo Chronicle Sudbury Northern Life Milton Canadian Champion Cambridge Times North Bay Nipissing News Clarington This Week Niagara this Week, Welland Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser Guelph Tribune Niagara this Week, Niagara Falls Niagara This Week, Grimsby Oshawa This Week Orillia Today Grimsby Lincoln News Oshawa Express Toronto Canadian Jewish News
Front Page
Community News
Classified Advertising
Local Features
Sports
150
150
100
100
100
100
100
50
50
50
50
1000
127 110 111 109 114 117 116 109 120 112 106
114 113 108 116 95 107 108 102 121 98 113
75 79 67 65 80 52 63 76 69 68 65
77 76 79 74 73 80 72 72 65 71 65
83 68 68 67 70 69 67 68 72 68 69
77 76 77 77 78 75 77 77 63 80 81
77 72 71 72 76 74 77 72 70 73 72
2 16 17 16 16 17 16 17 12 15 13
41 37 39 41 37 36 36 36 43 40 38
38 40 41 40 38 42 39 37 34 37 37
49 42 42 40 38 45 40 42 34 35 37
760 728 719 717 715 714 711 707 702 697 696
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
114 111
96 99
64 74
73 72
66 64
75 81
74 75
15 18
35 29
38 35
42 35
694 693
12 13
102 99 110 110 104 107
114 117 103 102 96 94
65 66 68 67 66 68
64 62 67 69 64 66
68 66 69 67 66 63
81 81 70 65 80 61
72 73 70 68 73 67
13 13 14 13 14 9
38 39 36 34 31 33
39 33 40 37 36 34
37 37 35 37 32 35
693 686 684 668 661 638
14 15 16 17 18 19
102
103
71
67
53
65
67
13
32
27
37
638
20
Ed. & Op. Ed. Pages
Presentation
Photography
Advertising Content
Advertising Design
Production Quality
Total
Rank
Class 7 (Circ. 45,000 & Over) Newspaper Brantford, Brant News Burlington Post Newmarket Era / Aurora Banner Barrie Advance Richmond Hill/Thornhill Liberal Niagara this Week, St. Catharines Mississauga News Oakville Beaver Peterborough This Week Brampton Guardian Hamilton Mountain News Vaughan Citizen Markham Economist & Sun Kitchener Post
Front Page
Community News
Classified Advertising
Local Features
Sports
150
150
100
100
100
100
100
50
50
50
50
1000
115 109
128 119
63 62
85 80
85 84
82 82
78 80
22 27
35 40
43 37
45 43
782 763
1 2
128 97
116 115
81 80
80 65
81 78
75 78
75 77
21 25
35 38
31 38
36 33
759 725
3 4
120
117
77
73
78
75
72
22
20
23
35
712
5
102 110 109 113 94 90 95 115 55
123 113 99 98 105 107 102 97 108
67 73 63 65 68 78 63 72 73
80 68 55 55 60 68 80 65 67
68 70 60 78 78 65 72 62 65
73 72 77 68 67 67 65 68 67
63 65 70 63 67 65 77 67 65
27 28 25 23 28 27 22 22 22
22 23 37 32 23 22 28 20 23
40 38 40 35 38 38 22 25 30
35 37 35 37 35 35 35 33 33
700 698 670 668 664 662 660 645 608
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Class 8 (College & University) Newspaper Algonquin College Niagara College Ryerson University Durham College Humber College University of Waterloo Centennial College
Front Page
Community News
Ed. & Op. Ed. Pages
Presentation
Photography
Advertising Content
Advertising Design
Local Features
Sports
Production Quality
Total
Rank
150 83 131 129 129 128 83 132
150 130 138 118 124 98 125 99
100 78 72 76 79 72 77 72
100 94 98 85 87 82 82 90
100 95 80 40 20 65 20 25
100 20 3 13 15 7 25 0
100 45 20 40 25 15 48 0
50 40 42 44 44 32 39 35
50 47 25 30 40 40 30 20
50 35 30 40 25 30 40 45
950 667 639 615 588 569 569 518
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2012 BNC Awards Results
71
Young Astronomers Participate in OPG’s March Break Madness Program.
we’re PrOud tO Be Part Of cOmmunities acrOss OntariO. We generate more than electricity. We also generate partnerships and opportunities to better the communities where we live and work. And we will continue to deliver safe, low-cost and reliable electricity for today and for the future.
OntariO POwer GeneratiOn cOnGratulates the winners Of the 2012 Ocna Better newsPaPer awards.
@ontariopowergen 72
2012 BNC Awards Results
OP-3098 OCNA Program Ad 2.indd 1
opg.com
2013-03-12 3:11 PM
2012 SPONSOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
would like to thank all our award sponsors: Fort Frances Times Giant Tiger Stores Limited Hydro One Networks Inc. Laurentian Publishing Metroland Media Group Ltd., Southwestern Ontario Division Metro Creative Graphics Northern News Services O’Donnell, Robertson & Sanfilippo Ontario Federation of Agriculture Ontario General Contractors Association Ontario Journalism Educators Association Ontario Power Generation Young Drivers of Canada 2012 BNC Awards Results
73
s n o i t a l u t a Congr
to all the d r a w A C N B 2 1 20 ! s r e n n i W
New drop shadows on this one.