Once again, the Battlefords News-Optimist and Regional Optimist are proud recipients of several nominations in the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspapers Association Better Newspapers competition.
The Battlefords News-Optimist is one of three nominees for Class C Best Overall Paper, for circulations between 2,000 and 3,499. They are up against Yorkton This Week and the Rosthern Saskatchewan Valley News.
“These nominations reflect the dedication and commitment of everyone who works in our plant,” says publisher Alana Schweitzer.
“It takes solid teamwork to deliver a quality product to our readers and customers each week. These nominations help us to be even more proud of the work we do.”
Editor Becky Doig says the best overall nomination especially reflects the work of everyone in the operation.
“The judges scrutinize everything — news content, ad design, page layout, print quality — and every little gremlin-generated typo can count against the final score,” she says. “This nomination shows how dedicated we are to fulfilling one workplace motto: ‘Today we will do the job well, not fast.’”
The Regional Optimist was judged best overall in its circulation class in 2012.
As well, several staff members and regular contributors to the News-Optimist and Regional Optimist have been nominated.
Former sports reporter Dustin Saracini, now with the Prince Albert Daily Herald, was nominated for Best Sports Story or Series of Stories for his work with the News-Optimist.
Long-time contributor Richard W. Hiebert has been nominated for Best Saskatchewan Arts or Cultural Series of Stories.
Jayne Foster, who retired as a reporter from the News-Optimist last year, goes out with a nomination in the category of Best Educational Coverage K-12 Single Story or Feature.
The News-Optimist received two separate nominations for Best First Nations Coverage. Both Shannon Kovalsky and John Cairns received nominations.
Contributor Averil Hall, a winner of SWNA awards last year for her photo work, has been nominated again for Best People Photo and for Best Colour Photo.
Finally, sister publication the Unity-Wilkie Press Herald received recognition as well as Helena Long, who was nominated for Best Business Writing and also for Best Health/Healthcare Coverage Series of Stories.
The announcement of the award recipients will be made later this spring.
