York Region Media Group wins big at newspaper awards
YorkRegion.com
April 21, 2014
By Simon Martin
York Region Media Group newspapers won numerous awards from the Ontario Community Newspaper Association (OCNA) and Local Media Association (LMA) for excellence in 2013.
The Local Media Association’s contest includes thousands of entries from community newspapers across North America.
At the OCNA awards:
York Region Media Group photographer Nick Iwanyshyn’s poignant portrayal of a couple embracing in front of a memorial following a fatal fire in East Gwillimbury earned first place honours for best spot news photo.
The Advocate won first prize for best special section with its Discover Georgina Guide.
The Newmarket Era/Aurora Banner finished second in general excellence in the largest circulation class.
Advocate reporter Heidi Riedner earned second place in the health and wellness category for her article on a dangerous drug trend, beating out 78 other entries from across the province.
Debora Kelly earned third place for columnist of the year, while Markham Economist and Sun editor, Bernie O'Neill, earned third place for best humour columnist.
Photographer Mike Barrett took home third place in the feature photo category for his photograph of a fencer in the King Connection.
The King Connection earned third in the best front page category (circulation less than 9,999).
The Vaughan Citizen won first place for original ad idea with its take on a vacation from interest rates ad.
Howie Taylor of the Vaughan Citizen finished second in the salesperson of the year category.
The Connection and Stouffville Sun-Tribune each earned honourable mentions for general excellence in their respective circulation classes.
The LMA awards released Monday also saw a number of York Region Media Group newspapers recognized.
The Newmarket Era/Aurora Banner won best special section for the Wild Wild West Hoedown 25th anniversary booklet.
Heidi Riedner earned first place for The Advocate for best multimedia coverage for work on the Big 5-0 project launched to engage citizens in voting in October’s municipal election.
The Era/Banner earned second place for its feature series, On the Home Front, where our group of writers, lead by regional reporter Sean Pearce, delved into housing in York Region.
Georgina Advocate/Bradford Topic managing editor Tracy Kibble took third place for editorial writing, while Newmarket Era/Aurora Banner managing editor Ted McFadden earned an honorable mention in the category. Markham Economist editor Bernie O'Neill earned second place for best column writing.
The Stouffville Sun-Tribune received an honourable mention for its headline, Sorry T.O., Cup Stops Here.
Sjoerd Witteveen received an honourable mention for best sports photo.
The Advocate also received an honourable mention for best front page.
Sandra Bolan of the Tribune was second in arts and entertainment writing with Bieber to Bee Pop.
The Richmond Hill Liberal won several editorial awards at various levels.
Liberal reporter Kim Zarzour won two first-place awards for best feature story about a touching effort by a liquor store outlet employee to help a homeless man — “Act of kindness may have saved man’s life” — and another for best breaking news for our “Titanic GO train rescue” story from last summer’s rainstorm.
Ms Zarzour also earned a third-place award for best continuing coverage for many stories written on the community reaction — positive and negative — to The Hub youth shelter project.
In addition, the week before, Ms Zarzour attended the Ontario Community Newspaper Association editorial awards, where she earn two second-place honours.
One was for her work on the news series “Big 5-0,” working to heighten interest and improve voter turnout in the upcoming municipal election.
The other was for best provincial historical story, headlined “Hidden gems saved from wrecker’s ball”.
Photographer Steve Somerville also earned honourable mention in the best feature photo category.
