Finalists announced for 2009 National Newspaper Awards

TORONTO, March 15 /CNW/ - The Globe and Mail leads all newspapers in Canada with 15 finalists in the 61st National Newspaper Awards competition, closely followed by the Toronto Star with 14 finalists.

The Edmonton Journal and Montreal's La Presse have six nominations each.

The Hamilton Spectator had four and The Canadian Press earned three nominations

The Ottawa Citizen, Kingston Whig-Standard, New Brunswick Telegraph Journal, and National Post had two each.

The Guelph Mercury, Halifax Chronicle-Herald, London Free Press, Montreal Gazette, Reuters, Sault Ste. Marie Star, Woodstock Sentinel-Review, Vancouver Province, Victoria Times Colonist, and Windsor Star have one each.

The 66 finalists in the 22 categories were announced on March 15, 2010, from the National Newspaper Awards office in Toronto. There were 1,301 entries in this year's competition for works that appeared in the year 2009.

In all, 20 news organizations have been nominated.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Toronto on Friday, May 14 following the Canadian Newspaper Association conference. Winners will receive cheques for $1,000 and a certificate of award. Runners-up receive citations of merit.

This is the 21st year for the NNAs under a Board of Governors which includes editors, publishers and the public from across Canada as well as representatives from the Toronto Press Club. Previous to 1989, the NNAs had been sponsored by the Toronto Press Club. The awards are administered from the National Newspaper Awards office in Toronto.

The National Newspaper Awards were founded by The Toronto Press Club in 1949.

    
    Highlights:

    -   Bruno Schlumberger of the Ottawa Citizen has been nominated in
        Feature Photo and News Feature Photo.
    -   Carlos Osorio of the Toronto Star has been nominated twice, in
        Feature Photo and News Photo.
    -   Steve Buist of The Hamilton Spectator also has two nominations, in
        Investigations and Sports Reporting.
    -   Michelle Shephard of the Toronto Star has been nominated twice, in
        Beats and in International Reporting.
    -   Rob Tripp of the Kingston Whig-Standard has two nominations, in Local
        Reporting with colleague Paul Schliesmann and in Beats.
    -   Graeme Smith of The Globe and Mail has been nominated for a third
        straight year in International Reporting.
    -   Michèle Ouimet of La Presse has been nominated for a third straight
        year.
    -   Marty Klinkenberg of the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal has been
        nominated for a third straight year.
    -   Jennifer Wells of the Toronto Star has two nominations this year, one
        for Short Features, the other for Business Reporting.

    The nominees:

    -   Multimedia Feature: The Canadian Press on the impact of
        nanotechnology on humans; The Globe and Mail for a study of the lives
        of women in Afghanistan; Toronto Star for report of the Toronto
        school board's long-term support programs for expelled students.
    -   News Feature Photography: Pawel Dwulit of the Toronto Star for a
        photo of a child wiping tears from a father's eyes after his son was
        killed outside a convenience store; Darryl Dyck of The Canadian Press
        for a shot of grounded helicopter pilots watching as a B.C. forest
        fire rages in the distance; Bruno Schlumberger of the Ottawa Citizen
        for a photo of an 85-year-old war veteran in the late afternoon light
        at a war memorial ceremony.
    -   Beat Reporting: Michelle Shephard, Toronto Star, for her national
        security beat; Jodie Sinnema, Edmonton Journal, for health reporting;
        Rob Tripp, Kingston Whig-Standard, for crime-justice coverage.
    -   Explanatory Work: Stephanie Nolen, The Globe and Mail, for a story of
        why children in India are dying of malnutrition despite that nation's
        economic prosperity; Catherine Porter, Toronto Star, for the story of
        a case of strawberries from California to their destinations in the
        Toronto area; Paul Waldie and Grant Robertson of The Globe and Mail
        for a story on the history of vaccine and how it has become an
        economic powerhouse.
    -   Politics: Stephen Maher of the Halifax Chronicle-Herald for stories
        that got former Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt in trouble;
        Paula Simons of the Edmonton Journal for columns about the Alberta
        government's anti-gay amendments to the Human Rights Act; James
        Travers of the Toronto Star for an article on the undermining of
        Parliament and other democratic institutions.
    -   Short Features: Agnès Gruda of La Presse in Montreal for a piece on
        an Congolese immigrant woman separated from her children for a long
        stretch because of bureaucratic delays; Tom Blackwell of the National
        Post for a story on the information gleaned from autopsies on slain
        Canadian soldiers and how that information can protect those still
        fighting the Afghan war; Jennifer Wells, Toronto Star, for a story on
        impresario Garth Drabinsky's conviction for fraud.
    -   Local Reporting: Scott Tracey, Rob O'Flanagan and Nicole O'Reilly of
        the Guelph Mercury for an investigation of the local gravel industry;
        Rob Tripp and Paul Schliesmann of the Kingston Whig-Standard for
        stories of the mysterious death of four Montreal women in an alleged
        honour killing; Elliot Ferguson and Bruce Urquhart of the Woodstock
        Sentinel-Review for the coverage of the abduction and murder of
        schoolgirl Tori Stafford.
    -   Presentation: Geneviève Biloski, National Post; Jason Chiu and David
        Pratt, The Globe and Mail; David Woodside, The Globe and Mail
    -   Special Project: The Hamilton Spectator for a project on "The Way We
        Spend" which spoke directly to the needs of readers in a frightening
        economy; Vancouver Province for Operation Phoenix, a community
        project in search of solutions and hope for the notorious Downtown
        Eastside; Windsor Star for "Fallen Angels", a series that linked a
        Windsor charity in Haiti to the worldwide phenomenon of sex tourism.
    -   Sports Photography: Mike Cassese of Reuters for a photo of a
        ballplayer fouling the ball off his cheek; Ed Kaiser, Edmonton
        Journal, for photo of a racecar driver preparing to flee his car that
        caught fire in the pit lane; Chris Schwarz, Edmonton Journal, for a
        football action shot of a defender illegally pulling the helmet off
        the ballcarrier.
    -   Business: Jacquie McNish, Greg Keenan, and Janet McFarland of The
        Globe and Mail for stories on Nortel's continuing saga and the impact
        on pensioners; Shawn McCarthy and Nathan VanderKlippe, The Globe and
        Mail for reporting on the quest for a clean oil industry; Jennifer
        Wells, Toronto Star, for a story on Canada's booming asbestos market.
    -   Columns: Patrick Lagacé, La Presse, Montreal; André Picard, The Globe
        and Mail; Graham Thomson, Edmonton Journal
    -   Investigations: David Bruser, Toronto Star, for an investigation into
        the disturbing plight of Canadian soldiers returning from service in
        Afghanistan; Steve Buist, The Hamilton Spectator, for a story about
        people whose lives were ruined by government-sanctioned gambling;
        Ariane Lacoursière of La Presse in Montreal went underground to
        reveal sub-standard conditions and lack of staff training in
        privately-owned seniors' residences.
    -   Arts and Entertainment: Susan Clairmont, The Hamilton Spectator, for
        columns about a debate over a urinal, a play based on a crime, and a
        photo exhibit of sex workers; Nick Patch, The Canadian Press, for
        columns on MuchMusic's anniversary, Randy Bachman's response to the
        death of Les Paul and musician Rob Mailhouse's trials with famous
        actors; Kate Wallace, New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal, for a profile
        of Saint John revered artist Fred Ross.
    -   Sports: Steve Buist of The Hamilton Spectator for story on former NHL
        goalie Dave Dryden's charity work in the Third World; Isabelle Hachey
        of La Presse in Montreal for a story on a midget hockey team from a
        remote village in northern Quebec; Marty Klinkenberg of the New
        Brunswick Telegraph-Journal for an article on the championship
        comeback of the Bathurst high school basketball team after a van
        crash had killed most of the team's members a year earlier.
    -   Feature Photography: Rachelle Labrecque, The Sault Ste. Marie Star,
        for a photo of a tiny six-year-old child with primordial dwarfism and
        her mother; Carlos Osorio, Toronto Star, for a picture of a parade of
        carved and lit pumpkins at a community event; Bruno Schlumberger,
        Ottawa Citizen, for a photo of a homeless man hunkering down as snow
        piles up around him
    -   International Reporting: Michelle Shephard of the Toronto Star for
        stories on Yemen as a terrorist breeding ground; Graeme Smith of The
        Globe and Mail for stories of drug- and arms-fuelled corruption in
        the Afghan government; Geoffrey York, The Globe and Mail, on the
        abduction and ransoming of two Canadian diplomats.
    -   Editorials: Sean Fine, The Globe and Mail; Lawrie McFarlane, Victoria
        Times Colonist; Adam Radwanski, The Globe and Mail.
    -   Editorial Cartooning: Brian Gable, The Globe and Mail; Malcolm Mayes,
        Edmonton Journal; Terry Mosher (Aislin), The Gazette, Montreal.
    -   Long Features: Carolyn Abraham, The Globe and Mail, Toronto, for a
        compelling report on geroscience, prolonging the human lifespan; Team
        Entry, La Presse, Montréal, for an evocative look at the global food
        crisis; Michèle Ouimet, La Presse, Montréal, for a disturbing
        examination of a monstrous crime.
    -   News Photography: Carlos Osorio, Toronto Star, for a photo of loved
        ones mourning the body of one of three Polish men who drowned in the
        Lake Muskoka region; Louie Palu, ZUMA Press/Toronto Star, for a shot
        of a Canadian medic gently closing the eyes of a young Afghan man who
        died in a gunfight; Steve Russell, Toronto Star, for a photo of a
        nighttime brawl outside a Toronto nightclub.
    -   Breaking News: Dawn Walton, Les Perreaux and Josh Wingrove, The Globe
        and Mail, for their coverage of a couple's romantic ski trip turned
        into tragedy in the B.C. interior; a team from the London Free Press
        for a series of stories about the abduction and killing of
        eight-year-old Tori Stafford of Woodstock; Kenyon Wallace of the
        Toronto Star for his reporting of a crash of a helicopter off the
        coast of Newfoundland and the loss of 17 lives.
    

For further information: Bryan Cantley, Secretary, National Newspaper Awards, 890 Yonge St., Suite 200, Toronto, ON, M4W 3P4, Tel: [phone], Fax: [phone], email: [email protected]; Nominated photos can be viewed after March 12 at www.nna-ccj.ca