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 2024 CCNAwards winners for Outstanding Community Service.
“This category had no weak entries and showed the remarkable community service that newspapers provide to their local communities day in and day out across the country. What set the winning entries apart was that they went well beyond their own pages and really reached out and engaged the community in the project and that community participation and input made the difference and perhaps had the added benefit of engaging community members who might now be regular readers. All the entries showed a great use of all the tools of the papers with strong editorial, great photos and for many of them events.”
First Place: Victoria News (BC) – Mental Health Overdose Prevention Resource Guide 2023
“This entry is what community service by a newspaper is all about. The paper took a burning community issue and made a real impact. They used all the tools of the newspaper – editorial, photos, promotional material etc., to great effect but they also went beyond that that an produced a guide that is of real benefit to the community. What was also impressive was the engagement with so many partners in the community to not only guide the project but to make it a success.”
This entry represents the collaborative effort between the local paper (Victoria News) and the Victoria Community Action Team, comprised of 17 local organizations. The comprehensive guide was created to address the critical issues surrounding mental health, addiction and opiate prevention in the region. The newspaper recognized the need for a centralized resource to provide vital information and support to residents and their innovative approach involved compiling resources into a single guide. The guide is the result of extensive research and quality reporting with photos, editorials and promotional material enhancing accessibility and engagement. Distribution included 10,000 free resource guides to local resource centre and not-for-profits, along with online accessibility.
Click here to download and read the guide.
Second Place: The Lake Report, Niagara-on-the-Lake (ON) – Celebrating the Women of NOTL
“This was an outstanding example of how a local newspaper can engage with its community. It showed the power of the paper in getting such great turnout by women in the community and celebrated their achievements so well. Great use of photos and editorial as well as advertising. It is great to see a newspaper go beyond its pages to really engage the community.”
Third Place: The Citizen, Blyth/Brussels (ON) – Citizen of the Year Awards
“This is a great example of the newspaper showing its importance and relevance to the community and also engaging the citizens in the exercise. A great example of the paper taking the idea beyond its pages and having an event for the winners.”
The 2024 CCNAwards recognize the outstanding work produced in 2023 and celebrate the vibrancy of community newspapers across Canada. Award winners were announced on September 16, 2024. For a full list of winners click here.
