This week the St. Albert Gazette was named the best all-round newspaper in its circulation class (12,500-24,999) by Newspapers Canada.
This week the St. Albert Gazette was named the best all-round newspaper in its circulation class (12,500-24,999) by Newspapers Canada.
It is third time in four years the Gazette has been so honoured by the group that is a joint initiative of the Canadian Newspaper Association and the Canadian Community Newspapers Association.
“Based on the copies I read, the news staff at the Gazette is the most aggressive in this circulation category,” said judge Glen Mazza. “This newspaper is bursting with local news, features and events listings. News/sports briefs give the readers a glimpse of many events that don’t need in-depth coverage.”
Mazza went on to say “a great effort is made to get spot news photos. Well thought-out headlines and leads were among the best in class. It is a nicely-designed paper and offers readers a compelling visual package.
“Opinion writing mainly focused on local issues – we can read dailies for the national stuff.”
Gazette publisher Brian Bachynski said everyone involved in the paper “takes great pride in producing a quality newspaper.
“This award is a testament to the hard work of everyone at the Gazette – our newsroom, our advertising representatives, our creative services department, our front office, our administration, and the people who work in pre-press and press. It truly takes a team effort to win Canada’s top community newspaper award.”
To be a good community newspaper, he added, you need to reflect the community and be a part of it.
“The people who work at the Gazette believe in these values and it shows."
The Gazette also won top spot in two other categories: best sports coverage (sports editor Jeff Hansen) and best feature photo (photographer April Bartlett).
Reporter Kevin Ma took second place in the environmental writing category for his story, Life in the golden waters.
“Kevin … wrote a beautiful piece about the life forms found in what is considered a dead river in his community,” said Mazza. “You’d never look at the Sturgeon River in the same way again. The impact of the full-page story was enhanced by strong photos and layout.”
Bartlett also took third place in the sports photo category.
The Gazette won second place in the special section category for its Celebrating 50 years of excellence in journalism package, and third place in the promotional campaign category for its Kettle Campaign project.
