For the sixth time in the past eight years, the North Renfrew Times has earned multiple awards in Ontario’s “Better Newspapers Competition.”
The contest is sponsored each year by the Ontario Community Newspapers Association (OCNA).
Award finalists are announced each year in February, with first, second and third place awards normally presented at the OCNA’s spring convention.
This year’s awards were presented in a special virtual ceremony last Friday.
The OCNA represents 215 community newspapers across the province, with a total circulation of more than three million.
Roughly half the province’s community papers are independently owned like the NRT, while the rest belong to major corporations like PostMedia or Metroland (Torstar).
For 2021, the NRT received four awards – first for “Best Guest / Freelance Column” and “Best Use of Colour” in an advertisement, second for “Best Sports Photo” and “Best Community Website” – and an Honourable Mention for General Excellence in its circulation category.
The General Excellence award was based on single issues submitted from the months of October 2020 and July 2021, while the “Best Guest / Freelance Column” was titled “Pablum and a Food Guide” written by Jenna Walsh and published on June 30.
Judges in the category said they did not expect the column to affect them “as deeply as it did.”
“This is a captivating piece about some of the far-reaching effects of Canada’s residential schools. The column is presented well and provided information few readers had likely seen earlier.”
Vance Gutzman earned silver in the “Best Sports Photo” category for his image of Nahum Khosravi, 3, playing hockey on the outdoor rink at Hill Park, published February 10, 2021.
Judges said the photo “grabs you from the moment you see it and doesn’t let go.”
“There are few things more Canadian than a perfectly-framed shot of a young child playing hockey under a blue sky on an outdoor rink. Congratulations.”
In the general excellence category, judges said the NRT earned its honourable mention with “a strong performance.”
“The paper is filled with an interesting mix of news stories, features items and a local editorial, along with strong photos that are given prominent display. Solid design, including nice-looking ads, complete this solid newspaper.”
Over the past several years, the NRT has won a number of awards for general excellence, editorial writing, news coverage, ad and newspaper design, photography, and column writing.
The NRT was joined in the award finals by two other local independents.
The Eganville Leader earned a total of six awards, while the Barry’s Bay Valley Gazette won two.
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