The North Shore News has received a dozen nominations for the B.C. & Yukon Community News Media Association’s 2023 Ma Murray Awards.
That number includes a nomination in the Newspaper General Excellence category for our circulation class, an award that recognizes the overall quality of the paper’s print edition.
Reporter Brent Richter earned a nomination in the Neville Shanks Memorial Award for Historical Writing Category for his story North Van Built on Profits From Slave Trade, Says Founding Family.
Two North Shore News writers will be going head-to-head in the Columnist Award category, with both acting editor Andy Prest and reporter Mina Kerr-Lazenby receiving nominations. Prest received his nominations for the columns We’ve Got a Honkin’ Big Problem with the Flag Right Now and Cheers to Local Diners That Deliver Lifelong Memories, while Kerr-Lazenby earned the nod for columns in her Newcomer to Vancouver series offering an outsider’s look at Vancouver’s transit system and weather.
Reporter Jane Seyd received a nomination in the Outdoor Recreation Writing category for her story Swimmer Hailed as Hero after Harrowing Rescue. Seyd also teamed up with multi-media reporter Alanna Kelly to earn a nomination in the Breaking News Video category for the story North Vancouver Apartment Fire Displaces About 70 Residents.
Kelly also received a nomination in the Feature Video Award category for the story This B.C. Travelling Vet Saves Animals From Swallowed Objects.
Reporter Stefan Labbé received a pair of nominations. In the Environmental Initiative category, Labbé was nominated for the story How Drones are Replanting B.C.’s Burned Forests, a story that examined how tree-planting start-ups are looking to supplement shovels and long days of labour with swarms of seed-bearing aerial drones. He also received a nomination for the story Too Wet, Too Rainy’: How Climate Change Could End Ski Business for Many B.C. Resorts in the Outdoor Recreation Writing category.
Photographer Mike Wakefield was nominated in the Feature Photo category for a shot he called Drama, a creative image captured inside the newly rebuilt Handsworth Secondary.
Photographer Paul McGrath earned a nomination in the Sport Photo category for Skateboard Bowl, a cool action shot from the new Mahon Skatepark (see gallery above).
North Shore News publisher Matt Blair received a nomination in the Reader Engagement Campaign category for his vintage online shop initiative.
Award winners will be announced on Thursday, May 4.
