Top industry awards for Nunavut News/North
First place in Best News Story category, third in General Excellence
NNSL staff
Northern News Services
Monday, May 2, 2016
NUNAVUT
A Nunavut News/North news story about the four-day sentencing hearing for former Oblate priest Eric Dejaeger on 32 sex crime convictions at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit Jan. 19 to 22 has received a top industry award.
Northern News Services managing editor Bruce Valpy accepted two awards for Nunavut News/North at the Better Newspapers Competition awards gala during the Ontario Community Newspapers Association spring convention in Vaughan, Ont., April 22.
"Lives destroyed by Dejaeger," which was published on Jan. 26, 2015, received a first-place award for Best News Story out of 31 entries from newspapers with a circulation size of under 10,000.
"We work in an industry which day after day reports on the tragedies of life. It can leave us cynical when we are asked to judge our peers in competitions like this one. Therefore it is rare to find a story which leaves our own jaded selves shocked and having to remember to take a moment to breathe. The writer, Michele LeTourneau, has done the job well, telling the tale, and carrying the emotion that must have filled the courtroom. Amazing work," stated Better Newspapers Competition judge Derek Kilbourne, the editor and co-owner of the Gabriola Sounder in Gabriola Island, B.C.
In the General Excellence category, Nunavut News/North received a third place award.
"Nunavut News/North has an outstanding mix of hard news and features, which combine to make this newspaper an engaging and essential read for its community. The paper does a great job tackling the tough stories, but achieves great balance with quality features that go beyond routine reporting. A great job by the staff while dealing with the unique challenges presented by the North, and while working in two languages," stated a panel of judges.
