The Ontario Community Newspapers Association (OCNA) Better Newspapers Competition honours the great work of Ontario’s weekly community newspapers. Congratulations to the 2022 winners in the General Excellence (Class 2 and 3), selected from 7 entries.
🥇 1st Place: Eganville Leader
“May be a little sentimental now but we remember when most papers were the size of the Eganville Leader. While that didn’t factor into the judging, it did certainly help it stand out from the rest somewhat. Liked the use of the colour headlines throughout and can’t recall ever seeing it before on every page during 40-plus years in the business.”
🥈 2nd Place: The Temiskaming Speaker
“The New Liskeard Temiskaming Speaker has a strong front page with no ads, big headlines and a dominant photo. The paper has a clean layout, is easy to read with big headlines, and has a lot of news and sports. It has local editorials, letters to the editor and strong advertising indicating a strong connection to the community.
🥉 3rd Place: Niagara This Week, Niagara-on-the-Lake Advance
“Niagara This Week, Niagara-on-the-Lake Advance is a great example of what a community newspaper can be. The photography stands above many others thanks to great composition, use of angles and sizing the photos well compared to the articles that accompany them. The editorial and op-ed pages feature an assortment of opinions including letters to the editor, showing the community is engaged. While they handle hard news extremely well, their attention to local features and to coverage of the arts makes it a publication that has meaning for the community.
The 2022 awards showcase the hard work, talent, and dedication demonstrated by Ontario publishers, editors, reporters, photographers, and designers. More than 1,200 entries were received and the awards were presented at a virtual ceremony on April 14, 2023.
