Saskatchewan Weekly Newspapers Association has announced the winners of the annual Better Newspapers Competition and the News-Optimist took a number of honours.
Former reporter Jayne Foster earned a first place finish in Best Education Coverage K-12 Feature. Judged as the top entry in this category was her Every Body Has a Story feature on former Cando School principal Tammy Riel. The entry scored 81/100, seven points ahead of the second place entry.
In the Best First Nations Coverage category, John Cairns and Shannon Kovalsky placed second and third, respectively. Cairns wrote two stories about Henry Beaudry. Kovalsky was nominated for another Every Body Has a Story feature on Sylvia Wuttunee.
Hiebert on Heritage contributer Richard W. Hiebert earned third place in Best Saskatchewan Arts or Culture Series of Stories for his columns about musical bands, past and present.
Photographer Averil Hall was recognized in two categories, taking a second place in the categories for Best People Photo and third in Best Colour Photo.
News-Optimist's former sports reporter Dustin Saracini received a third place honour for Best Sports Story or Series.
The Battlefords Regional Optimist finished in third place in the category for Best Editorial Page in a paper with circulation over 6,500 and Battlefords News-Optimist received third place in Best Overall Paper with a circulation between 2,000 - 3,499.
