Newspaper publishers and staff from across the country came together on Thursday, April 26 to honour the very best in the community newspaper industry at the 2012 Canadian Community Newspaper Awards.
Held in Toronto in conjunction with Newspapers Canada’s INK+BEYOND conference, the annual awards gala was hosted by Canada AM’s Jeff Hutcheson.
The Hinton Voice and The Yukon News led the pack of winners with four first place wins each. The Hinton Voice took home awards for Best Spot News Photo Coverage, Best Feature Photo, Best Sports Photo and Best Sports Coverage. The Yukon News received first place awards for Best Local Editorial, Best Local Cartoon, Best Spot News Photo Coverage, and Best Website.
Angela Mombourquette of the HRM West Community Herald, serving Halifax, Nova Scotia, was named Outstanding Columnist, while Outstanding Reporter Initiative accolades went to Paul MacNeill of The Eastern Graphic, serving Montague, PEI, and Stacey Colwell of the Lunenburg County Progress Bulletin, serving Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The Kings County Register of Kentville, Nova Scotia, and the North Shore News, of North and West Vancouver, BC, won first place in the Outstanding Community Service category. Humber College’s et cetera was named Outstanding Campus Newspaper.
To view a complete list of all the winners at the 2012 Canadian Community Newspaper Awards visit www.newspaperscanada.ca/CCNAwards.
Special Recognition Awards
The evening also saw special recognition of certain individuals for their contributions to the newspaper industry.
Michael Scott accepted the Margaret Hennigar Award for Exemplary Leadership for 2012 on behalf of Jack “Sig” Sigvaldason, publisher of Northern News Services, serving the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
The Gold Quill was presented to Don Cumming, president and plant manager of the Fort Frances Times, in recognition of his 50-year newspaper career. CCNA Past-Presidents Mike Williscraft and Clark Pepper were acknowledged for their service on the board of directors with President’s Quill awards.
In addition, Shellbrook Chronicle publisher Clark Pepper was inducted as a CCNA honorary life member. Pepper’s efforts as president to launch the ComBase study that quantified community newspaper readership were specifically cited, as well as his overall service to the association and the community publishing industry.
All CCNA members will be mailed a digital Winners CD filled with inspiring work from the top three entries in each awards category. An online version of the Winners CD is available at the link below.
The Canadian Community Newspapers Association would like to thank all of the newspapers, judges and sponsors who participated in the 2012 Canadian Community Newspaper Awards. We are honoured to continue this annual recognition of the outstanding achievements of the community newspaper industry.
For more photos from the Canadian Community Newspaper Awards visit Newspapers Canada on Facebook.
If you have any questions about the awards program please contact Magda Mroz, Project Coordinator, at awards@newspaperscanada.ca.
