Congratulations are in order for the North Shore News, with reporters, photographers and multi-media journalists combining to take home four wins at this year’s Canadian Community Newspaper Awards.
Nabbing a first place win for Best Multimedia Feature is the team of Brent Richter and multi-media reporter Alanna Kelly, who partnered on the story Blind North Shore Man to Swim Strait of Georgia for Canadian Guide Dogs.
The story followed a 40-year-old engineer as he made good on a months-long awareness and fundraising campaign, swimming from Sechelt to Nanaimo to raise money for the non-profit that provided him with his guide dog Kaleb.
Judges described the story as “a well-written and detailed feature that effectively uses rich media to enhance the storytelling.”
The inclusion of a high-quality video, transcript, and text-to-voice capability, said judges, “significantly enhances accessibility and engagement.” Providing additional interviews and clearer funding goals would have made the story even more comprehensive, they wrote.
Reporter Jane Seyd brought home two trophies, one for second place in the Best Local Civic Journalism, Circulation 10,000 and over category, and another for third place in the Best Historical Story, Circulation 10,000 and over.
The first was for her “comprehensive and balanced” report Top Staff Members Exit West Vancouver, a piece on West Vancouver’s mayor being investigated for workplace bullying, and the third place win was for A Grand Old School Celebrates a Century, in which Seyd created “a rich image” of the importance of marking a school’s centennial year, said judges.
Longtime North Shore News photographer Paul McGrath also nabbed a win, in the Best Spot News Photo Coverage, Circulation 10,000 and over category.
The photo, to go alongside coverage of a fast-moving wildfire that was spreading through West Vancouver’s Horseshoe Bay, depicted a BC Wildfire air tanker dropping a load of fire retardant from the air.
Judges said the photo “does an excellent job of illustrating the magnitude” of the fire and the efforts to fight it. “It is well composed, which is not always easy when subjects, such as the plane, are in motion,” they said.
