PREMIER AWARDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . REPORTER OF THE YEAR - STEPHEN SHAW AWARD 11 entries
Judge
OSHAWA THIS WEEK – JILLIAN FOLLERT
1 PLACE st
Compelling is the best way to describe Jillian Follert’s writing. Each of her stories had me hooked from the beginning, and engaged to the end. Though the topics are complex, Follert’s writing breaks down the complexity to get to the heart of the story, and the people impacted. Very good use of sidebars, especially in the “A Dying Man’s Wish” story, to provide a quick read of additional facts. Well done.
Barbara DeanSimmons Regional Editor TC Media NF Barbara Dean-Simmons is Regional Editor for a group of TC Media community newspapers in Newfoundland and Labrador: The Packet in Clarenville, The Southern Gazette in Marystown, The Gander Beacon, The Lewisporte Pilot and The Advertiser in Grand Falls-Windsor. Barbara got her start in the newspaper industry in 1980 as a reporter with The Packet. Over the years she has collected many awards from the Atlantic Community Newspapers Association, the Canadian Community Newspapers Association, and the Atlantic Journalism Awards, for news and feature news writing, editorials, community service and investigative reporting.
KAWARTHA LAKES THIS WEEK – MARY RILEY
2PLACE nd
DUNDAS STAR NEWS – CRAIG CAMPBELL
It is apparent from Craig Campbell’s stories that he is willing and eager to tackle the tough stuff. “What’s coming down the track” covered all the essentials of a complex feature, showing why the story matters to local people by using their voices in the main story; and using sidebars, stories and fact boxes to offer up other details. Made for a very informative and easy to read feature. A good example for other reporters who might wonder how to take on more complex stories. Break it down and use smaller stories to give readers the big picture. Well done.
“A hammer lying near the pillow is the first clue her son is not feeling safe.” A round of applause to Mary Riley for writing a lead that says so much in so few words, and makes the reader want to read more. Tackling the issue of mental illness, and being able to step into the world of a family of a mentally ill son to let others know what that world is like, takes a certain skill. I was hooked on the first installment, right to the last sentence “She got rid of the sharp knives.” Powerful words that showed the reality of families dealing with mental illness. Very deserving of an award.
rd 3 PLACE
HONOURABLE MENTION
New Hamburg Independent - Scott Miller Cressman – How’s this for variety. From the perspective of tackling city streets as a bicyclist, to tagging along with firefighters on a training course, to tackling the issue of family violence from the perspective of a woman who has endured the reality; Scott Miller Cressman’s middle name must be “versatile.” For the first two stories, there was a sense that he had great fun doing this. In the case of the family violence story, he was able to take a tough issue and write about it clearly, taking the human interest approach balanced with facts. Good job.
GENERAL COMMENT
To sum it up, I’m so very excited to see that storytelling is alive and well in Canada, and reporters are willing to tackle the tough stuff. Some entries, though, stood out from the rest and I have to say that of the top four, it was very difficult to choose a winner. They each offered up excellent writing and interesting issues. Overall, I enjoyed the stories in this category. I encourage each of the reporters who entered to continue to dig for the stories that matter, and to tell the stories that impact local people and communities. If I could make a couple of suggestions, it would be these: shorter sentences make it easier for the reader to follow the story; and, follow the example of the winners and use short sidebars and fact boxes to break out the information on the page, for a more appealing presentation and a main story that allows the reader to continue reading without getting bogged down in dry information. Stay well, and keep writing. Sponsored by Ontario Power Generation 36
2014 BNC Awards Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .