Community safety is an ongoing issue in the community and the Battlefords News-Optimist and Regional Optimistcoverage of the issue itself and the steps being taken to deal with it has earned staff reporter John Cairns a Best News Story of the Year Award from the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspapers Association.
The SWNA’s annual Better Newspapers Competition awards were handed out at the organization’s annual convention and awards banquet at the Sheraton Cavalier in Saskatoon April 25.
The News-Optimistand Regional Optimistwere nominated in a total of seven categories.
Graphic artists Vicky Clayton and Sabrina Meckling also brought home top honours in the Best Series of Ads category for ads they created for Scott Campbell Dodge.
“2015 was another highlight for our team of journalists and composition staff at the SWNA awards. ‘Proud’ is an understatement of how I feel to have such talented people on staff at our paper,” says publisher Alana Schweitzer.
Editor Becky Doig, Cairns’ other newsroom colleagues and former colleague Brett Smith let out a lusty cheer when his award was announced.
“John is a hard-working and conscientious journalist,” says Doig. “His attention to detail and knowledge of the issue are reflected in the plaque that now hangs in our office reception area.”
The two entries earning top awards earned glowing praise from the judges.
“Extremely detailed,” is how judges described Cairns’ coverage of the community safety story.
“ (This is) clearly a hot button issue in the community and the paper has reacted accordingly to ensure the issue is well presented. I found John’s coverage thoughtful and refreshing. Articles were well researched and extremely well written and thought provoking. Has the reader cheering for the Battlefords.”
The work of Clayton and Meckling was described as “typographically strong, well-designed and clear auto ads. Huge visual impact with strong type and background use.”
Results in the other categories are: Brett Smith (former sports reporter) – second, Best Recreation Story; Jayne Foster – third, Best Health/Health Care Coverage; John Cairns – third, Best First Nations Coverage; Craig Beauchemin – third, Best Sports Story; third, Best Editorial Page Class E, circulation over 6,500.
