The nominees:
• Multimedia Feature: Winner: Toronto Star for report of the Toronto school board’s long-term support programs for expelled students; Runners-up: The Canadian Press on the impact of nanotechnology on humans; The Globe and Mail for a study of the lives of women in Afghanistan.
• News Feature Photography: Winner: Bruno Schlumberger of the Ottawa Citizen for a photo of an 85-year-old war veteran in the late afternoon light at a war memorial ceremony; Runners-up: Pawel Dwulit of the Toronto Star for a photo of a child wiping tears from a father’s eyes after his son was killed outside a convenience store; Darryl Dyck of The Canadian Press for a shot of grounded helicopter pilots watching as a B.C. forest fire rages in the distance.
• Beat Reporting: Winner: Michelle Shephard, Toronto Star, for her national security beat; Runners-up: Jodie Sinnema, Edmonton Journal, for health reporting; Rob Tripp, Kingston Whig-Standard, for crime-justice coverage.
• Explanatory Work: Winner: Stephanie Nolen, The Globe and Mail, for a story of why children in India are dying of malnutrition despite that nation’s economic prosperity; Runners-up: Catherine Porter, Toronto Star, for the story of a case of strawberries from California to their destinations in the Toronto area; Paul Waldie and Grant Robertson of The Globe and Mail for a story on the history of flu vaccine and how it has become an economic powerhouse.
• Politics: Winner: James Travers of the Toronto Star for articles on the undermining of Parliament and other democratic institutions; Runners-up: Stephen Maher of the Halifax Chronicle-Herald for stories that got former Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt in trouble; Paula Simons of the Edmonton Journal for columns about the Alberta government’s anti-gay amendments to the Human Rights Act.
• Short Features: Winner: Jennifer Wells, Toronto Star, for a story on impresario Garth Drabinsky’s conviction for fraud; Runners-up: Agnès Gruda of La Presse in Montreal for a piece on an Congolese immigrant woman separated from her children for a long stretch because of bureaucratic delays; Tom Blackwell of the National Post for a story on the information gleaned from autopsies on slain Canadian soldiers and how that information can protect those still fighting the Afghan war.
• Local Reporting: Winner: Scott Tracey, Rob O’Flanagan and Nicole O’Reilly of the Guelph Mercury for an investigation of the local gravel industry; Runners-up: Rob Tripp and Paul Schliesmann of the Kingston Whig-Standard for stories of the mysterious death of four Montreal women in an alleged honour killing; Elliot Ferguson and Bruce Urquhart of the Woodstock Sentinel-Review for the coverage of the abduction and murder of schoolgirl Tori Stafford.
• Presentation: Winner: Jason Chiu and David Pratt, The Globe and Mail; Runners-up: Geneviève Biloski, National Post; David Woodside, The Globe and Mail.
• Special Project: Winner: Vancouver Province for Operation Phoenix, a community project in search of solutions and hope for the notorious Downtown Eastside; Runners-up: The Hamilton Spectator for a project on “The Way We Spend” which spoke directly to the needs of readers in a frightening economy; Windsor Star for “Fallen Angels”, a series that linked a Windsor charity in Haiti to the worldwide phenomenon of sex tourism.
• Sports Photography: Winner: Mike Cassese of Reuters for a photo of a ballplayer fouling the ball off his cheek; Runners-up: Ed Kaiser, Edmonton Journal, for photo of a racecar driver preparing to flee his car that caught fire in the pit lane; Chris Schwarz, Edmonton Journal, for a football action shot of a defender illegally pulling the helmet off the ballcarrier.
• Business: Winner: Jacquie McNish, Greg Keenan, and Janet McFarland of The Globe and Mail for stories on Nortel’s continuing saga and the impact on pensioners; Runners-up: Shawn McCarthy and Nathan VanderKlippe, The Globe and Mail for reporting on the quest for a clean oil industry; Jennifer Wells, Toronto Star, for a story on Canada’s booming asbestos market.
• Columns: Winner: André Picard, The Globe and Mail; Runners-up: Patrick Lagacé, La Presse, Montreal; Graham Thomson, Edmonton Journal
• Investigations: Winner: David Bruser, Toronto Star, for an investigation into the disturbing plight of Canadian soldiers returning from service in Afghanistan; Runners-up: Steve Buist, The Hamilton Spectator, for a story about people whose lives were ruined by government-sanctioned gambling; Ariane Lacoursière of La Presse in Montreal went underground to reveal sub-standard conditions and lack of staff training in privately-owned seniors’ residences.
• Arts and Entertainment: Winner: Kate Wallace, New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal, for a profile of Saint John revered artist Fred Ross; Runners-up: Susan Clairmont, The Hamilton Spectator, for columns about a debate over a urinal, a play based on a crime, and a photo exhibit of sex workers; Nick Patch, The Canadian Press, for columns on MuchMusic’s anniversary, Randy Bachman’s response to the death of Les Paul and musician Rob Mailhouse’s trials with famous actors.
• Sports: Winner: Marty Klinkenberg of the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal for an article on the championship comeback of the Bathurst high school basketball team after a van crash had killed most of the team’s members a year earlier; Runners-up: Steve Buist of The Hamilton Spectator for story on former NHL goalie Dave Dryden’s charity work in the Third World; Isabelle Hachey of La Presse in Montreal for a story on a midget hockey team from a remote village in northern Quebec.
• Feature Photography: Winner: Bruno Schlumberger, Ottawa Citizen, for a photo of a homeless man hunkering down as snow piles up around him; Runners-up: Rachele Labrecque, The Sault Ste. Marie Star, for a photo of a tiny six-year-old child with primordial dwarfism and her mother; Carlos Osorio, Toronto Star, for a picture of a parade of carved and lit pumpkins at a community event;
• International Reporting: Winner: Geoffrey York, The Globe and Mail, on the abduction and ransoming of two Canadian diplomats; Runners-up: Michelle Shephard of the Toronto Star for stories on Yemen as a terrorist breeding ground; Graeme Smith of The Globe and Mail for stories of drug- and arms-fuelled corruption in the Afghan government.
• Editorials: Winner: Adam Radwanski, The Globe and Mail; Runners-up: Sean Fine, The Globe and Mail; Lawrie McFarlane, Victoria Times Colonist;
• Editorial Cartooning: Winner: Brian Gable, The Globe and Mail; Runners-up : Malcolm Mayes, Edmonton Journal; Terry Mosher (Aislin), The Gazette, Montreal.
• Long Features: Winner: Michèle Ouimet, La Presse, Montréal, for a disturbing examination of a monstrous crime; Runners-up: Carolyn Abraham, The Globe and Mail, Toronto, for a compelling report on geroscience, prolonging the human lifespan; Team Entry, La Presse, Montréal, for an evocative look at the global food crisis.
• News Photography: Winner: Steve Russell, Toronto Star, for a photo of a nighttime brawl outside a Toronto nightclub; Runners-up: Carlos Osorio, Toronto Star, for a photo of loved ones mourning the body of one of three Polish men who drowned in the Lake Muskoka region; Louie Palu, ZUMA Press/Toronto Star, for a shot of a Canadian medic gently closing the eyes of a young Afghan man who died in a gunfight.
• Breaking News: Winner: a team from the London Free Press for a series of stories about the abduction and killing of eight-year-old Tori Stafford of Woodstock; Runners-up: Dawn Walton, Les Perreaux and Josh Wingrove, The Globe and Mail, for their coverage of a couple’s romantic ski trip that turned into tragedy in the B.C. interior; Kenyon Wallace of the Toronto Star for his reporting of a crash of a helicopter off the coast of Newfoundland and the loss of 17 lives.
For more information: Bryan Cantley, Secretary, National Newspaper Awards, 890 Yonge St., Suite 200, Toronto, ON M4W 3P4. Tel: 416-575-5377; Fax: 416-923-7206; email: bcantley@cna-acj.ca.

The country’s top prizes for journalism will be handed out during the 61st National Newspaper Awards ceremony in Toronto on Friday, May 14

The event is expected to attract a large contingent of publishers, editors, and journalists as well corporations and people with a special interest in newspapers.

The National Newspaper Awards gala will conclude two days of newspaper-related events, including the Canadian Newspaper Association’s annual Conference from May 13 to 14 at Sheraton Centre Hotel in downtown Toronto. Details on the conference, titled “Ink and Beyond”, are at www.inkandbeyond.ca.

Our emcees will be two of the most opinionated columnists in Canada, Christie Blatchford of The Globe and Mail who emceed the NNA gala in 2001, and Yves Boisvert, longtime columnist at La Presse in Montreal.

The gala will be a fast-paced and entertaining evening to honour the 66 finalists, three in each of the 22 award categories. Each of the three finalists will be introduced in video form and the surprise winner of each will be announced.

Prominent newspaper personalities from the past and present will serve as presenters of the awards.

The evening gets underway with a host reception at 5:30 p.m. It will be followed by a banquet dinner at 6:45 and then the awards ceremony. Following the awards show, there will be wrap-up reception.

The evening offers an excellent opportunity to meet and mingle with people from the daily newspaper industry.

Tickets are $180 each, plus GST ($189). Tables of 10 can be purchased for $1,800, plus 5% GST ($1,890). To reserve, contact Bryan Cantley, NNA Secretary, at 416-575-5377 (bcantley@cna-acj.ca), or Lauraine Woods, NNA Administrative Assistant, at 416-923-3567, ext. 228 (nna@cna-acj.ca).

Leading the way was Long Features with 130 entries, followed by Columns with 117.

There were 320 entries in the four photography categories: Feature Photo, 101; News Feature Photo, 97; Sports Photo 69; and Spot News Photo, 53.

Other categories:

Breaking News, 38
Short Features, 92
Investigations, 44
International Reporting, 31
Business Reporting, 53
Editorial Writing, 29
Arts and Entertainment, 70
Sports Writing, 57
Special Project, 16
Presentation, 43
Editorial Cartooning, 26
Explanatory Work, 67
Politics, 37
Beats, 91
Local Reporting, 19
Multimedia Feature, 19

Judging has commenced and results are expected to be known in early March when three finalists will be selected in each category.
The awards will be handed out on Friday, May 14, at the Sheraton Centre Hotel in Toronto. The event marks the closing of the two-day Ink and Beyond conference being put on by the Canadian Newspaper Association and the Canadian Community Newspaper Association.

Lang, 34, was the 2008 winner for Beat Reporting.

Her citation in the NNA program read: “As the Calgary Herald’s health reporter, Michelle Lang routinely broke stories last year on national and provincial health care issues. Two of them dealt with Canada’s desperate hunt for doctors. She brought readers into the lives of the foreign medical professionals who are staffing Canadian hospitals and the bidding wars for their services. In another, she analyzed the ethics of recruiting, or poaching, physicians from the developing world, notably South Africa. That country’s beleaguered health system has been grappling with the highest number of HIV-AIDS cases in the world.”

“On behalf of the Board of Governors of the NNAs, I want to extend my heartfelt condolences to Michelle’s family, her fiancé and her extended journalistic family at the Calgary Herald and throughout the country,” said Scott White, chair of the NNA Board of Governors. “This is a tragedy we feared might happen someday but it doesn’t make it any easier to accept. Our journalists in wartime regions are brave and committed souls.”

The Calgary Herald’s website (www.calgaryherald.com) has a great deal more, including a guest book which attracted hundreds of messages of condolences in the first 24 hours of the announcement of her death.

“It’s a devastating day. I’m totally heartbroken. I feel for her family, her fiance, her friends and I feel for the newsroom,” said Herald editor-in-chief Lorne Motley after learning of Michelle’s death.

“It creates this hole, not only for the Herald, obviously, but also for Canwest and any other news organization because we’re a pretty tight-knit group as journalists. We’re family and when we lose one of our own, that’s difficult for all of us to accept.”

Entry Rules - Rule Number Four (definition of a story)

The current rule #4 states: A story may comprise a main story and one closely-related sidebar.

The new rule #4 states: A story may comprise a main story and closely-related sidebars published on the same day.

The change is designed to accommodate the practice of newspapers breaking up a story into smaller parts for format or presentation reasons.

Multi-media Feature

Entrants may now submit TWO online Multi-Media Features. (Special Project submissions will remain at one entry per news organization.)

Editorial Cartooning

Editorial cartoonists now must submit a body of work of five editorial cartoons. The previous requirement was for a single cartoon or a body of work of up to three cartoons. Submissions will be made online for the second year. This is the third year for entering and judging the four photography categories online.

Website content

There are still some sections to be updated and created, such as the history section and archives. Downloadable PDFs of the 2009 entry rules, categories and entry ballots are now online.

In the months ahead, text and photo entries will be posted from as far back as 1949.

Deadline for Entries

Monday, January 11, 2010

La Presse of Montreal was next with five awards. 

The Ottawa Citizen and the Toronto Star earned two each.  The Canadian Press, Winnipeg Free Press, National Post, Saint John Telegraph-Journal, Prince George Citizen, and The Record of Waterloo Region had one each. 

The 21 winners were among 63 finalists in the 21 categories. There were 1,408 entries in this year’s competition for works that appeared in the year 2007, the third highest in NNA history.

In all, 22 news organizations were nominated. 

Winners received cheques for $1,500 and a certificate of award. Runners-up received citations of merit and cash awards of $250 each.

This is the 19th year for the NNAs under a Board of Governors which includes editors, publishers and the public from across Canada as well as representatives from the Toronto Press Club. Previous to 1989, the NNAs had been sponsored by the Toronto Press Club. The awards are administered from the National Newspaper Awards office at the Canadian Newspaper Association.

The National Newspaper Awards were founded by The Toronto Press Club in 1949. 

Highlights: 

Stephanie Nolen of The Globe and Mail has earned her third National Newspaper Award.

Bruno Schlumberger of the Ottawa Citizen has won his fourth NNA for photography.

Serge Chapleau of La Presse in Montreal has won his sixth NNA for editorial cartooning. 

The winners and runners-up: 

News Feature Photography: Winner - John Lehmann, The Globe and Mail, for a photo of a young mother kissing her conjoined twins in Vernon, B.C.; Runners-up - Bruno Schlumberger, Ottawa Citizen/CanWest News Service, for a photo of retired military nursing sisters having a snack at the National Military Cemetery; Tara Walton of the Toronto Star for a photo of a two-year-old girl recovering from a heart transplant. 

Beat Reporting: Winner - Bruno Bisson, La Presse, Montreal, for reporting on Montreal’s transportation issues; Runners-up - Frank Armstrong, Kingston Whig-Standard, for crime and justice reporting; Jen Skerritt, Winnipeg Free Press, for stories on health care in Manitoba.

Explanatory Work: Winner - Stephanie Nolen, The Globe and Mail, for a story on how inexpensive vaccinations, mosquito nets and vitamins are saving the lives of children in the developing world; Runners-up - Maria Cook, Ottawa Citizen, for a story on an engineering revolution that makes it faster and safer to replace aging bridges;  Linda Gyulai, The Gazette, Montreal, for  an examination of Montreal’s crumbling water system from reservoir to sewers.

Politics: Winner - Kathryn May, Ottawa Citizen, for stories about the mismanagement of the RCMP pension and insurance funds; Runners-up - Gary Dimmock, Ottawa Citizen, for  the alleged political backdoor negotiations of mayoral candidate Terry Kilrea and Ottawa Mayor Larry O’Brien; Paula Simons, Edmonton Journal, for stories on an Alberta government agency’s tactics against a group of farmers. 

Short Features: Winner - Roy MacGregor, The Globe and Mail, for a story on the funeral service for a slain RCMP officer;  Runners-up - Émilie Côté, La Presse, Montréal, for a piece on Bangladesh refugees forced to flee their homes because of rising seas; and Graeme Smith, The Globe and Mail, for a story on what happens when an Afghan is found dead. 

Local  Reporting: Winner - Gordon Hoekstra, Prince George Citizen, for stories about air quality issues in the city; Runners-up - Elisabeth Johns of the Cornwall Standard-Freeholder for a series on domestic violence in the community; Ann Lukits of the Kingston Whig-Standard for stories on declining care for seniors and a shortage of doctors in nursing homes. 

Presentation: Winner - Spencer Wynn, Toronto Star; Runners-up - Geneviève Biloski, National Post; Brian Hughes, Toronto Star

Special Project: Winner - La Presse of Montreal for a worldwide look at the implications of a world without a clean and abundant supply of water; Runners-up - Halifax Chronicle-Herald for a series of stories in Afghanistan focusing on the 2^nd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, based in the Maritimes; Toronto Star for a project on poverty with a focus on social justice.

Sports Photography: Winner - David Cooper, Toronto Star, for a celebration leap by Ontario skip Glenn Howard in a curling championship; Runners-up - Paul Chiasson, The Canadian Press, for a photo of a Canadian hockey player upside down after a check from a Russian player; Darren Stone, Victoria Times Colonist, for an all-out stretch by the ball carrier to reach the end zone in a football game. 

Business: Winner - Boyd Erman, Jacquie McNish, Tara Perkins and Heather Scoffield, The Globe and Mail, for stories on a near financial institution collapse as a result of the sub-prime mortgage crisis; Runners-up - Renata D’Aliesio, Calgary Herald, for a story of how the government and unknown agencies seek to regulate water; Eric Reguly, Boyd Erman, Sinclair Stewart, Andrew Willis of The Globe and Mail for work on the takeover of BCE Inc.

Columns: Winner - Gordon Sinclair, Winnipeg Free Press; Runners-up - Les Leyne, Victoria Times Colonist; Margaret Wente, The Globe and Mail. 

Investigations:  Winner - Michèle Ouimet, La Presse, Montreal, for stories on Canada’s mission in Afghanistan and what has happened to aid sent there; Runners-up - Jim Bronskill and Sue Bailey of The Canadian Press for an investigation into the use of Tasers by police forces; Kevin Donovan, David Bruser and Andrew Bailey of the Toronto Star for a series on phony charities.

Arts and Entertainment: Winner - Marty Klinkenberg, Saint John Telegraph-Journal, for stories on New Brunswick arts and entertainment; Runners-up - Lisa Rochon, The Globe and Mail, for stories on architecture; Jon Wells, The Hamilton Spectator, for a story on  producer and songwriter Daniel Lanois. 

Sports: Winner - Colin Hunter of the Waterloo Region Record for features about unusual sports such as the culture of a skateboard park; Runners-up - Kevin Mitchell of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix for story about Fred Sasakamoose, a young Cree who gave up on the NHL to return  home; and Mary Ormsby, Toronto Star, for stories on minor hockey’s failure to attract immigrants, the relationship between the late John Ferguson and his son John Jr., and the purchase of a showjumping horse by a wealthy princess. 

Feature Photography:  Winner - Bruno Schlumberger, Ottawa Citizen/CanWest News Service, for a photo from Paris of a painter hiding his face from the camera alongside a self-portrait; Runners-up - Charla Jones, The Globe and Mail, for a photo of Leonard Cohen at his home in Montreal; Phil Hossack, Winnipeg Free Press, for a shot of lightning illuminating an abandoned grain elevator. 

International Reporting: Winner - Graeme Smith, The Globe and Mail, for stories on the torture of detainees in the Afghan war; Runners-up - Stephanie Nolen, The Globe and Mail, for a story on the quest in South Africa to find and identify bodies of people killed during the apartheid era; Doug Saunders, The Globe and Mail, for a series on the world’s middle class. 

Editorials: Winner - André Pratte, La Presse, Montreal; Runners-up - Gerald Flood, Winnipeg Free Press; Mary Janigan, The Globe and Mail.

Editorial Cartooning: Winner - Serge Chapleau, La Presse, Montréal; Runners-up - Patrick Corrigan, Toronto Star; John B. Larter, freelance, Calgary.

Long Features: Winner - Ian Brown, The Globe and Mail, for a feature on spring cleaning and the age of clutter;  Runners-up - Carolyn Abraham, The Globe and Mail, for a story on the growing movement to bury the unborn; Sue Montgomery, The Gazette in Montreal, for a feature on Dawson College shooter Kimveer Gill. 

News Photography: Winner - Dave Chidley, The Canadian Press, for a picture of Conrad Black giving a one-finger salute to the press; Runners-up - Ashley Fraser, Ottawa Citizen/CanWest News Service, for a photo of Santa Claus in paddywagon after being arrested during a protest; Cathie Coward, The Hamilton Spectator, for a photo of an imprint left behind after a five-year-old boy fell nine stories onto the soft-waterlogged ground…and lived. 

Breaking News: Winner - Mary Vallis of the National Post for coverage of the Virginia Tech massacre;  Runners-up - Barrie Examiner team’s coverage of the massive fire that destroyed much of Barrie’s historic downtown; the Vancouver Sun team of Lori Culbert, Neal Hall, Jeff Lee, Chad Skelton and Derrick Penner for coverage of the Pickton verdict. 

For more information: Bryan Cantley, Secretary, National Newspaper Awards, 890 Yonge St., Suite 200, Toronto, ON M4W 3P4. Tel: 416-575-5377; Fax: 416-923-7206; email: bcantley@cna-acj.ca.