Skip to content

Black Press Media reporters grab nominations for B.C. & Yukon Community Newspapers awards

The awards honour community newspaper and digital excellence
15770082_web1_BehindSeries1

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

    Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.