The St. Albert Gazette has been recognized both provincially and nationally as the best newspaper in its circulation class.
Judges with both the Canadian Community Newspaper Association (CCNA) and the Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association (AWNA) gave the Gazette top marks as the best all around newspaper at recent awards ceremonies.
“Once again the objective of a community newspaper is to capture and engage the reader from the front page throughout the rest of the paper. The St. Albert Gazette does exactly that,” said CCNA judge Andrew Franklin.
Franklin cited the Gazette’s clear, concise writing, use of colour, community calendar and ad design as the reasons it stood out above the rest of the competition.
“The pages are clear and concise, easy to read and well paginated. The ad designs are great and the use of colour is excellent throughout the entire publication. Use of graphics are also a plus in this publication. The editorials are well written, and the topics are wide and varied giving readers quite a bit to pique their interest.”
There were no judge’s comments for the AWNA award, but the Gazette’s photography score propelled it above the rest of the pack. The skill and talented eyes of photographers Jeremy Broadfield and James Maclennan did not go unnoticed by the CCNA judges, who awarded Broadfield first place for Best Sports Photo for his entry of a rugby game.
“The picture captured the moment. The spirit of the player was evident as well as the strain of her abilities taken to the limit. I was impressed with the emotion captured that so many readers could connect to,” said judge Will Nichols.
Maclennan picked up second place in the Best Spot News competition with his close-up of a blazing vehicle fire.
“The perspective used, with a single firefighter in the middle ground, served to show the immensity of the flames,” said judge Natalie Musseau.
The Gazette also picked up a third-place finish at the CCNAs for Best Editorial Page.
Sports editor Jeff Hansen was also rewarded for his tireless devotion to the local sports scene with a first-place finish for Best Sports Coverage.
“The variety of sports and the photographs gave a great perspective of what was happening on the local sports scene,” said judge Kevin Higgins.
Hansen also received a nod from the AWNA for Best Sports Page. The Gazette picked up a third place finish for Best Front Page.
