The Canadian Community Newspaper Awards honour outstanding work in editorial, photography, multimedia and overall excellence in community newspaper publishing across the country. Congratulations to the 2023 CCNAwards winners for Best News Story (circulation up to 9,999), selected from 41 entries.
Entries in this category consisted of one story published in one issue dealing with a local event of some newsworthy importance. Entries were judged on quality of writing, depth and detail and newsworthiness. Click the image below to read the winning news stories.
“A close race among the top-four news stories, but the ‘fed up with frog jumping’ story stood out amongst the submissions in this category. A unique news story for sure, and the reporter spent time researching this annual event using trapped frogs. Likewise, freeing up tangled humpbacks was impactful. Always great to read a feel-good story when it comes to our whale populations on both coasts. Third-place also nicely done as a reporter was able to get an OPP officer to open up about tragedy in his own life which helped shape how he polices, evident from the feedback from individuals how have interacted with him on the job. An array of great news stories I was able to peruse, but the top-three stood out because of the subject matter or saving whales.”
1st Place: The Carillon (Steinbach, MB) “Fed up with frog jumping”, Nicole Buffie
“Wonderful story by the reporter looking at the issue of ending the trapping of frogs to be used in this annual event. Kudos to the reporter for hopping to get the story … had to find a pun.”
2nd Place: Powell River Peak (Powell River, BC) “Combined effort frees tangled humpback”, Paul Galinski
“Kudos to those involved in saving humpback whales from fishing nets. Reporter did a wonderful job telling this story.”
3rd Place: The Highlander (Haliburton, ON) “‘Devastating’ call inspired better policing”, Lisa Gervais
“Impactful story with the reporter getting the OPP officer to open up on a tough subject prior to him becoming a police officer, and how he handles the job going forward based on the feedback he’s received from individuals who he has helped as a policeman.”
The 2023 CCNAwards recognize the outstanding work produced in 2022 and celebrate the vibrancy of community newspapers across Canada. Award winners were announced on September 15, 2023. For a full list of winners visit www.ccnawards.ca.
