Digital Publishing Awards - 2018 Program Unveiled

TORONTO, Dec. 1, 2017 /CNW/ - The National Media Awards Foundation (NMAF) is pleased to announce the lineup of categories for the third annual Digital Publishing Awards, the most prestigious program recognizing excellence in digital editorial content in Canada. This year, awards in 24 categories will be bestowed to Canadian digital creators and publishers, along with a $500 cash prize in creator-awarded categories.

"As an independent and charitable organization, the Digital Publishing Awards has established itself as an authoritative and respected champion of excellence in the Canadian digital community. The changes to this year's categories reflect our commitment to the program's quality and relevance to all digital creators and publishers." – Nino Di Cara, President of the NMAF.

To review its Digital Publishing Awards program for 2018, the NMAF worked in consultation with a panel of industry professionals. This year's Advisory Committee members, who provided invaluable guidance to crafting the 3^rd annual Digital Publishing Awards, include:

• Jean-Philippe Cipriani, Director, Digital Content, L'actualité
• Jude Isabella, Editor-in-Chief, Hakai Magazine
• Matt Frehner, Head of Presentation, The Globe and Mail
• Kenny Yum, Chief of Staff, CBC News

The categories for the 2018 DPAs are:

1.	Best Digital Editorial Package	13.	Best Service Feature: Family & Health
2.	Best Blog or Column	14.	Best Online Video: Short
3.	Best News Coverage: Small Newsroom	15.	Best Online Video: Feature
4.	Best News Coverage	16.	Best Online Video: Mini-Doc
5.	Best Feature Article: Short	17.	Best Podcast and Audio Storytelling
6.	Best Feature Article: Long	18.	Best Digital Design
7.	Fiction *NEW	19.	Best Photo Storytelling *NEW
8.	Best Personal Essay	20.	Best Social Storytelling
9.	Best Arts & Culture Story	21.	Best Digital Initiative
10.	Best Science & Technology Story *NEW	22.	Emerging Excellence Award
11.	Best Service Feature: Lifestyle	23.	Leadership Excellence Award
12.	Best Service Feature: Careers & Personal Finance	24.	General Excellence in Digital Publishing: Small, Medium and Large Publications

Notable changes for 2018 include:

• The top overall prize—General Excellence in Digital Publishing—will be presented in three divisions, for small, medium and large publications.
  
  
• One of the Best News Coverage categories will be exclusively open to small publications.
  
  
• The awards for Best Service Feature, rewarding excellence in service journalism, have been revised to include the following three categories:
• Lifestyle;
• Careers and Personal Finances; and
• Family and Health.
  
  
• The Best Podcast category has been expanded and renamed Best Podcast and Audio Storytelling to include audio stories.
  
  
• Three new categories have been added to the program:
• Fiction;
• Best Science and Technology Story; and
• Best Photo Storytelling.

For a complete list of awards categories, rules and judging procedures, visit digitalpublishingawards.ca.

THE NMAF ELECTS TWO NEW BOARD MEMBERS

To help support and grow the DPA program on an on-going basis, the NMAF is pleased to welcome two new digital publishing professionals to its board of directors:

As Head of Presentation at The Globe and Mail, Matt Frehner leads a cross-disciplinary team of editors, designers, developers and graphic artists. His team tells stories across all platforms - from breaking news to in-depth features and investigations.

Also joining the NMAF board of directors is Elamin Abdelmahmoud, Social Media Editor at BuzzFeed Canada and Editor, News Curation at BuzzFeed News. Also a panelist for CBC News and a columnist for Chatelaine, Elamin teaches at Ryerson University in Toronto.

Visit digitalpublishingawards.ca to view the NMAF's complete list of board members.

2018 CALL FOR ENTRIES

Submissions for the 2018 Digital Publishing Awards will be accepted from January 2 to February 2, 2018. The DPAs are open to all Canadian digital publishers—including those that support established brands in consumer & B2B magazines, newspapers, broadcast and other journalism, as well as those that serve their audiences exclusively as digital brands—published in either English or French.

For news and updates about the DPAs, follow the Digital Publishing Awards on Twitter @DPAwards and #DPA18.

ABOUT THE DIGITAL PUBLISHING AWARDS

The Digital Publishing Awards promote and reward the achievements of those who create digital publishing content in Canada—the writers and editors, designers and developers, video and podcast producers, photographers and illustrators, and many others. The DPA program recognizes, celebrates and promotes to a national audience the innovative publishing teams that produce digital content in Canadian media.

At the 2017 Digital Publishing Awards, 75 Canadian digital publications participated, submitting the best of their digital content, design and innovation from the past year for consideration in 21 awards categories. 67 individuals volunteered their time, their expertise, and their passion for digital publishing in serving as judges for the second Digital Publishing Awards.

The DPAs are produced by the NMAF, a charitable foundation whose mandate is to recognize and promote excellence in content creation of Canadian print and digital publications through annual programs of awards and national publicity efforts. The Foundation produces two distinct and bilingual award programs: the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. Throughout the year, the Foundation undertakes various group marketing initiatives and professional development events.

SOURCE National Media Awards Foundation

about the Digital Publishing Awards, please contact: Émilie Pontbriand, Communications Manager, 416.939.6200, [email protected]