About a month ago I learned that four of my works were nominated for the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspapers Association's (SWNA) awards in different categories.
In this case, to join the competition against other newspapers, I needed to go through everything that's been done over the past year and decide what stories or photos might have a chance. I applied in more than four categories, hoping that this year I would at least make it to the finals in one. The one that I was banking on didn't make it even to the playoffs, so when the news about the other four pieces landing at the top came in, to tell you the truth, I was more upset than excited.
A month went by quickly, and last Friday we all gathered for our Saskatchewan newspaper people's Oscars. Just to give you an idea of what the newspaper award night looks like, I'd mention that it was held at 3 p.m., over Zoom and there were about 30 of us, unique and eccentric newspaper journalists and others from all across the province.
No red carpets or insane gala outfits. We all dropped our daily buzzing around, which we do in an effort to cover it all and deliver the news to our audiences, and got together to learn the names of 2021 SWNA awards winners. It was a little moment of celebration for people, most of whom work endless hours days and nights just because journalism is their calling.
I got my husband at my site to share the moment in case or when the Mercury, as a paper, would end up getting something. I knew we would receive some awards, as we did put a lot of work into upgrading our paper ahead of 2021. We changed the approach to the front page and were doing our best to keep every paper diverse, entertaining and colourful. We would dig for local news and put light on local people, all while trying to be timely even though we are a weekly edition.
Of course, we put all these efforts in for our readers and the community, but I assumed it would be noticed by colleagues as well.
Also, a hope kept lingering on that I might get one first place with the story about the Estevan EMS. After all, it was a really interesting piece to do as our awesome paramedics actually let me into the station and an ambulance and helped me understand and feel what their workday looks like. Other pieces I liked too, but since my strongest didn't make it to the finals, personally I didn't expect much.
But things definitely went the other way. Boom, boom, boom, boom, and I got it all. I thought that getting one award would be awesome, but getting first place in all four categories, in which I made it to the finals, was unbelievable.
When Brad Brown of The Quad Town Forum, who was the MC for the ceremony, took his hat off for my hat trick third award, I felt like it was a real Oscar. I guess I should have felt like a hockey star, but sports are still not my strong side. I've never had a hat trick before in any world, so to get there and to fix the result with another acclamation was amazing. And, on top of all that excitement, Brown did pronounce my last name right every single time, which I don't think has ever happened in Canada before (and that's including my convocation and wedding).
Last year at the Mercury was great in sense of creativity, big promotions, new specials and experiments with the design of the paper. I loved it, and that's what allowed for a better quality, more interesting and more valuable stories. Our small but diverse and strong team worked hard and well together, thinking outside the box and using a "why not?" argument as often as we could.
Despite all the challenges, despite all the hoops we had to jump, it was definitely a successful stretch, and the total of seven first places and a second and a third felt like an awesome way to summarize everything we've done as a team that year.
But even though having a highly professional journalist taking his hat off in celebration of my success felt amazing, having readers reach out after reading my stories and share your feedback is still the most priceless part of my job. Knowing that what I do matters to you, makes you smile, reminds of something, makes you think or just provides some good entertainment is something that means more than any award to me. Thank you for reading!
