Hamilton Spectator sweeps the Ontario Newspaper Awards
- An investigative series that revealed elevated amounts of lead pouring from the taps of thousands of homes and brought sweeping changes to the way Ontario protects drinking water yielded the top prize of journalist of the year for the London Free Press's Jonathan Sher at the 54th annual Ontario Newspaper Awards.
The series, which included dozens of stories about unsafe lead levels at thousands of London homes and 36 other communities, pressured officials to release information to the public that had been kept under cover.
"When reporters and their newspapers vigorously pursue stories that have a direct impact on the everyday lives of those in their communities, they perform a public service of the highest calling," the three-judge panel noted.
"The community owes Sher and his editors its gratitude for documenting a problem that affected the lives and health of thousands of people."
Sheryl Nadler, of the Hamilton Spectator, won the Richard Sutton Award for photojournalist of the year for a portfolio entry the judges said combined an "impeccable sense of colour, lighting and tone with a wicked sense of humour."
Tara Hagan, of Wildfrid Laurier University, won the Rob Austin award for student journalist of the year.
The awards were handed out at a gala in Waterloo on Saturday night attended by about 450 people.
There were about 900 entries in 41 categories.
The Hamilton Spectator swept up with a dozen awards.
The Guelph Mercury got six, the Waterloo Region Record got five, while the Barrie Examiner collected four. The London Free Press and the Sarnia Observer each got three awards and the Windsor Star took home two.
The Ottawa Sun, St. Catharines Standard, Owen Sound Sun Times, Orillia Packet and Woodstock Sentinel-Review won one award each.
A complete list of winners:
Martha Blackburn Award for journalist of the year: Jonathan Sher, London Free Press
Richard Sutton Award for photojournalist of the year: Sheryl Nadler, Hamilton Spectator
Hamilton Spectator Rob Austin Memorial Award for student journalist of the year: Tara Hagan, Wilfrid Laurier
K.J. Strachan Award for editorial writing: John Roe, Waterloo Region Record
CanWest Global award for business writing: Naomi Powell, Hamilton Spectator
Rogers Cable Award for sports photography: Bob Tymczyszyn, St. Catharines Standard
Edward J. Hayes Memorial Award for beat reporting: Steve Buist, Hamilton Spectator
Wayne MacDonald Award for narrative writing: Jon Wells, Hamilton Spectator
K.A. (Sandy) Baird Award for humorous writing: Chuck Brown, Guelph Mercury
The Canadian Press Award for Spot News Writing (under 25,000 circulation): Barrie Examiner
Beat Reporting Award (under 25,000 circulation): Shawn Jeffords, Sarnia Observer
Joan May Memorial Award for columns: Earl McRae, Ottawa Sun
Gene Florcyk Memorial Award for sports writing: Jon Wells, Hamilton Spectator
Del Bell Memorial Award for feature writing: Wade Hemsworth, Hamilton Spectator
John E. Motz Memorial Award for excellence in layout and design (over 25,000 circulation) Hamilton Spectator
John E. Motz Memorial Award for excellence in layout and design (under 25,000 circulation): Barrie Examiner
C.B. Schmidt Award for novice reporting: Melinda Dalton, the Waterloo Region Record
Yahoo! Canada award for online multimedia special project: Hamilton Spectator
James Bruce Award for excellence in coverage of entertainment and the arts: Dalson Chen, Windsor Star
The Canadian Press Award for spot News writing (over 25,000 circulation): London Free Press
Norma R. Bidwell Award for family/lifestyle feature writing: Jack Poirier, Sarnia Observer
Municipal Affairs Reporting (under 25,000 circulation): Magda Konieczna, Guelph Mercury
Municipal Affairs Reporting (over 25,000 circulation): Nicole MacIntyre, Hamilton Spectator
Robert J. Hanley Award for sports writing (under 25,000 circulation): Greg Mercer, Guelph Mercury
Walter J. Blackburn Award for excellence in opinion and analysis: Steve Buist, Hamilton Spectator
Press Institute of Canada Award for excellence in enterprise reporting: Jonathan Sher, London Free Press
London Free Press Award for excellence in news feature writing: Dianne Wood, the Waterloo Region Record
Jack Bowman Memorial Award for spot news photography (under 25,000 circulation): Barrie Examiner
Carl Morgan Award for special projects (over 25,000 circulation): Hamilton Spectator
Bill McGrath Award for design and graphics: Diane Shantz and Brenda Hoerle, the Waterloo Region Record
Portrait Photography: Jason Kryk, Windsor Star
Winnifred Stokes Hill Memorial award for opinion and analysis (under 25,000 circulation): Michael Den Tandt, Owen Sound Sun Times
Tony Fredo Memorial Award for family/lifestyle writing: Jack Poirier, Sarnia
Copyright © 2008 The Canadian Press, All Rights Reserved.
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