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| 1 - Kelowna (BC) Capital News |
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| 2 - Ajax/Pickering (ON) News Advertiser |
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| 3 - Richmond (BC) Review |
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Judge's Comments
Most of the papers in this class offer the readers solid coverage of community events and news stories. Sharp, tight writing was characteristic. These are the biggest markets community newspapers cover and the quality of the ad and supplement designs reflects that. Areas for improvement: use of too many staged photos and incredibly tight dummying made the stories cramped and harder to read. While following a design formula can offer the readers consistency, it's important not to fall into a rut or become boring. Many of the papers look like carbon copies of each other. We were surprised at the limited sports coverage in many papers.
All-Round: The Abbotsford News won out for its diversity of coverage and commitment to putting the reader first. The photography is of high quality and features are interesting and well written. They blend news and features well. The quality stretches all the way through this large paper.
Front Page: The Surrey Now front pages are striking because they used photos shot from terrific angles within a nice, tight, tidy overall package. The teaser photos are also bold and draw the reader's attention. Maple Ridge was a very close second with even better photographs, but more lack-luster presentation of stories and headlines.
Editorial Page: The Kelowna Capital News did a good job of combining many elements into a small space in a readable way. This was a tough decision but Kelowna stood out because they have a solid editorial, a well-written local column, a place for a reader Q&A and a cartoon. Good job. I liked that they have a separate editorial page and don't try to combine reader letters and the paper's opinion on one page. A separate letters page is deserved in all papers with markets as large as this.
Blue Ribbon Recipients:
Abbotsford (BC) News
Ajax/Pickering (ON) News Advertiser
Coquitlam (BC) Tri City News
Kelowna (BC) Capital News
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows (BC) Times
Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows (BC) News
Markham (ON) Economist & Sun
Nanaimo (BC) News Bulletin
North Vancouver/West Vancouver (BC) North Shore News
Oshawa/Whitby (ON) This Week
Richmond (BC) Review
St. Albert (AB) Gazette
Surrey/North Delta (BC) Leader
Surrey/North Delta/White Rock (BC) The Now Newspaper
Vernon (BC) Morning Star
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