After much anticipation, SNA is pleased to announce the winners of the 2009 Editorial
Contest. Newspapers from across North America responded to our call, submitting
their best and brightest work. Judged by the Journalism Department faculty of Loyola
University Chicago, School of Communication, this year's contest heralded magnificent
results.
Taking the lead with the most winning entries among companies is Metroland Media
Group Ltd. with a whopping 93 winners. They are followed by Journal Register Company
with 71 and Black Press with 55. Rounding out the company leader board is Lee Enterprises,
Inc. with 35, GateHouse Media, Inc. with 25, American Community Newspapers II, LLC
with 20, Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. with 19, Consumers News Service, ThisWeek
Community Newspapers also with 19, Holden Landmark Corporation with 15 awards, The
World Company with 13 and Southern Newspapers, Inc. with 11 awards.
Daily Newspapers
Heavy hitters among daily newspapers include Lawrence Journal-World (The World Company)
with 13 awards, Galveston County Daily News (Southern Newspapers, Inc.) with 11
awards, The Reporter (Journal Register Company) with 10 awards, The Saratogian,
LLC (Journal Register Company) also with 10, Arizona Daily Star/Tucson Newspapers
(Lee Enterprises, Inc.) with 9 awards, North County Times (Lee Enterprises, Inc.)
with 8 awards, and Antelope Valley Press (Antelope Valley Press Newspapers, Inc.)
also with 8 awards.
Individual Weekly Newspapers
Standout recipients among weekly newspapers include the St. Albert Gazette (Great
West Newspapers Limited Partnership) with 9 awards, The Suburban (Michael Publishing,
Inc.) with 8 awards, Brooklyn Paper (Community Newspapers Group of New York, Brooklyn
Papers) with 8 awards, Peace Arch News (Black Press-Lower Mainland Publishing) also
with 8, Howard County Times (Patuxent Publishing Company) with 7 awards, North Shore
Outlook (Black Press-Lower Mainland Publishing), also with 7, and Abbotsford News
(Black Press-Lower Mainland Publishing) with 7 awards.
Weekly Newspaper Groups
Top award winners for weekly newspaper groups include Lower Mainland Publishing
(Black Press) with 39 awards, Durham Division (Metroland Media Group Ltd.) with
29 awards, Halton Division (Metroland Media Group Ltd.) with 20 awards, ThisWeek
Community Newspapers (Consumers News Service) with 19 awards, Suburban News Publications
(American Community Newspapers II, LLC) also with 19, Sound Publishing, Inc (Black
Press) with 16 awards, and York Division (Metroland Media Group Ltd.) also with
16 awards.
For the complete winners' list, please visit the
Editorial Contest page on our Web site.
Winners will be recognized at the 2010 Fall Publishers' & Advertising Directors'
Conference. Plaques will be sent to first place winners. With that in mind, it is
very important that you review your winning entry for typos or errors. If you have
any corrections to your winning listing(s), please email those corrections to SNA
headquarters at sna@suburban-news.org no later than February 25, 2010 as plaques/certificates
will be ordered after that date.
Editors & Journalist of the Year
Each year, the SNA Editorial Contest showcases the prestigious Editor and Journalist
of the Year honors, and each year, our community newspapers reveal candidates who
truly deserve the accolade.
The SNA Editor of the Year award recognizes an editor who has made outstanding contributions
to his or her publishing company through strong management skills, readership initiatives,
community involvement, innovation and a commitment to quality journalism.
Our Editor of the Year of a weekly newspaper award is presented to Christopher Bryan,
Editor with the Burnaby NewsLeader and New Westminster NewsLeader, Black Press.
Our judge for the category noted that "Christopher Bryan does it all as editor of
the Burnaby NewsLeader. He writes, edits, designs, and leads a newsroom. The paper's
investigative work is particularly impressive for a weekly."
On the daily side, our Editor of the Year honor is awarded to Lynn Haddrall, Editor
with the Waterloo Region & Guelph Mercury, Metroland Media Group, Ltd. The judge
for the category wrote, "Where does Lynn Haddrall get the time? As editor of the
Waterloo Region and Guelph Mercury, she edits two newspapers and a slick regional
mast line. She writes a weekly column. She leads a large newsroom and she blogs!
And at the end of the day, she is an active volunteer in her community!"
The SNA Journalist of the Year award acknowledges a journalist whose work advances
public understanding of life with the communities served by the newspapers.
The 2009 Journalist of the Year acclaim is presented to Jillian Fennimore, Reporter
with the Cambridge Chronicle, GateHouse Media New England. The judge for the category
commented that, "Jillian Fennimore's hard-hitting coverage of politics, crime, and
education is punctuated by her excellent work on Cambridge's Henry Louis Gates/Sgt.
James Crowley controversy. Truly impressive."
Congratulations to all our winners for their outstanding successes and well-deserved
honors. SNA would like to offer special thanks to John Slania, Journalism Program
Director, and all the faculty with Loyola University Chicago, School of Communication
who helped judge the 2009 competition.