More than 20 Black Press Media community newspapers are up for this year’s Ma Murray awards.
Hosted by the the BC & Yukon Community News Media Association, the awards honour and celebrate the work of community journalists across the province for advertising, photography, writing and overall newspaper excellence.
For a second year, the awards include a category focusing on multimedia digital storytelling.
Winners will be announced on Apr. 27 at the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond.
Black Press Media paper nominations:
NEWSPAPER EXCELLENCE AWARD, CATEGORY A
- Eagle Valley News
- Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News
NEWSPAPER EXCELLENCE AWARD, CATEGORY B
- Hope Standard
- North Island Gazette
- Revelstoke Review
NEWSPAPER EXCELLENCE AWARD, CATEGORY C
- Salmon Arm Observer
NEWSPAPER EXCELLENCE AWARD, CATEGORY E
- Peninsula News Review
- Yukon News
NEWSPAPER EXCELLENCE AWARD, CATEGORY F
- Cowichan Valley Citizen
- Vernon Morning Star
NEWSPAPER EXCELLENCE AWARD, CATEGORY G
- Peace Arch News
Photo awards:
FEATURE PHOTO AWARD, OVER 25,000
- Peace Arch News, Aaron Hinks – Friends extol train victim ‘he was a gift’
FEATURE PHOTO AWARD, UNDER 25,000
- Oak Bay News, Keri Coles – Graduation glee
- Salmon Arm Observer, Lachlan Labere – It’s a hit
- Yukon News, Jackie Hong – Cavewoman
PHOTO ESSAY AWARD
- Parksville/Qualicum Beach News, Peter McCully & team – Day in the Life of Parksville
- Yukon News, Crystal Schick – Rendezvous
PORTRAIT/PERSONALITY PHOTO AWARD
- Penticton Western News, Mark D. Brett – Christmas on the streets
SPORTS PHOTO AWARD, UNDER 25,000
- Prince Rupert, The Northern View, Matthew Allen – Three-way tie for runners racing to the finish line
- Terrace Standard, Quinn Bender – Mountain Rush – Wild Descent Packhorse Race
- Yukon News, Crystal Schick – Water Rodeo
SPORTS PHOTO AWARD, OVER 25,000
- Peace Arch News, Aaron Hinks – Point of contact
- Penticton Western News, Mark D. Brett – Tigers the little team that could
SPOT NEWS PHOTO AWARD, OVER 25,000
- Peace Arch News, Aaron Hinks – White Rock pier split in two in storm of century
- Peninsula News Review, Arnold Lim – Province gives B.C. homeless campers deadline to leave provincial park
- Surrey Now-Leader, Curtis Kreklau – Smokey silhouette
SPOT NEWS PHOTO AWARD, UNDER 25,000
- Grand Forks Gazette, Kathleen Saylors – ‘Catastrophic’ flooding will echo for years
• Smithers, Interior News, Chris Gareau – Jessica Comes Home
- Williams Lake Tribune, Angie Mindus – A kind, helping hand
Writing awards:
ARTS & CULTURE WRITING AWARD
- Nanaimo News Bulletin, Josef Jacobson – Breast cancer survivor exhibits her experience
BUSINESS WRITING AWARD
- Prince Rupert, The Northern View, Matthew Allen – Death of Retail series
COLUMNIST AWARD
- Campbell River Mirror, Mike Chouinard – Wise Cracks
- Chilliwack Progress, Greg Knill – Complacency is never the right response / Chilliwack school trustees should lead by example
EDITORIAL AWARD
- Chilliwack Progress, Greg Knill – Can’t we just lighten up?
ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVE AWARD
- Revelstoke Review, Liam Harrap – Brewery creates bread beer from food waste
- Surrey Now-Leader, Amy Reid – Turning food to fuel
ENVIRONMENTAL WRITING AWARD
- Keremeos, The Review, Tara Bowie – Rattlesnakes in parts of South OK could be hissss-tory
FEATURE ARTICLE AWARD, OVER 25,000
- Kelowna Capital News, Carli Berry – Emerging from a history of homelessness
- Kelowna Capital News, Kathy Michaels – For the first time in my life I am me
FEATURE ARTICLE AWARD, UNDER 25,000
- Nelson Star, Tyler Harper – The pieces of Darwin Greyeyes
- Yukon News, Jackie Hong – A behind-the-scenes glimpse at Environment Yukon’s necropsy lab
FEATURE SERIES AWARD
- Abbotsford News, Dustin Godfrey – Finding A Way Home
- North Delta Reporter, Grace Kennedy – Finding success
JOHN COLLISON MEMORIAL AWARD FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
- Abbotsford News, Tyler Olsen – Skipping the bill
- Langley Advance, Matthew Claxton – Developer Gone Bad
- Oak Bay News, Keri Coles – When parents kill
NEVILLE SHANKS MEMORIAL AWARD FOR HISTORICAL WRITING
- Trail Times, Sheri Regnier – Appraisers tasked with putting a value on a community’s history
- Yukon News, Jackie Hong – Yukon Archives project aims to identify First Nations individuals in historical photos
TINKHORN CREEK VINEYARDS OUTDOOR RECREATION WRITING AWARD
- Abbotsford News, Tyler Olsen – How Sumas Mountain’s trails were saved
- Cowichan Valley Citizen, Sarah Simpson – Neighbours aim to oust gun club from park
- Nelson Star, Tyler Harper – Giving Kootenay Lake back to special needs swimmers
SPORTS WRITING AWARD
- Surrey Now-Leader, Ryan-Alexander McLeod – Flag football carries deeper meaning for inner city kids
SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS AWARD, OVER 25,000
- Peninsula News Review, Penny Sakamoto, Susan Lundy, Dale Naftel & Lily Chan – Pearl Magazine
SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS AWARD, UNDER 25,000
- Nelson Star, Greg Nesteroff & team – Nelson Adventure Magazine
BC CARE PROVIDERS ASSOCIATION SPECIAL SECTION AWARD, OVER 25,000
- Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News, Michael Hall, Lisa Prophet-Craik & Multi Media Sales Consultant – Locally Owned 2018
- Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News, Lisa Prophet-Craik, Michael Hall, Multi Media Consultants & Editorial Staff – A-list 2018
SPECIAL SECTION AWARD, UNDER 25,000
- Nelson Star, Katelyn Hurley, Marc-Andre Hamelin & team – Indulge Nelson
COAST CAPITAL SAVINGS NEW JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
- Cloverdale Reporter, Grace Kennedy
- Oak Bay News, Keri Coles
LEDCOR ERIC DUNNING AWARD FOR DEDICATION AND SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY
- Black Press Media, Lorie Williston
Digital awards:
BREAKING NEWS VIDEO AWARD
- Goldstream News Gazette, Arnold Lim – Only tent city residents allowed into Goldstream Park campsites
- Oak Bay News, Keri Coles – Injured hiker rescued after fall on steep terrain in Highlands
FEATURE VIDEO AWARD
- Hope Standard, Ashley Wadhwani – From (hydroponic) farm to table: A look inside a cannabis production facility
- Sooke News Mirror, Arnold Lim & Dawn Gibson – A letter to my former self
MULTIMEDIA SERIES AWARD
- Victoria News, Nicole Crescenzi & Arnold Lim – Learning the ropes, police style
SINGLE MULTIMEDIA BREAKING NEWS STORY
- Peace Arch News, Aaron Hinks & Tracy Holmes – Pier split in two in storm of century
- Prince Rupert, The Northern View, Shannon Lough – Ottawa apologizes to Japanese family in B.C. after chopping historic cherry trees
Advertising awards:
AD DESIGN AWARD
- Nelson Star, Katelyn Hurley – Kootenai Moon
- Nelson Star, Sandy Leonard – Nelson Brewing Company
- Yukon News, Heidi Miller – Earls Burger Challenge
AD DESIGN AWARD, COLLABORATIVE, OVER 25,000
- Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News, Vipan Aulakh & Maryn Goms – True Light Building & Development
- Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News, Karen Derosia – The Chopped Leaf – Feel good after you eat!
AD DESIGN AWARD, COLLABORATIVE, UNDER 25,000
- Cloverdale Reporter, Cynthia Dunsmore – Experience the amazing world of the honey bee
