EDITORIAL

----   Newspaper Awards: local papers nominated in all categories  

The Quebec Community Newspapers Association has announced finalists for the "Best in Quebec" journalism awards for the past year, and the Aylmer Bulletin and its sister newspapers, the Pontiac Journal and the West Quebec Post, are strong contenders in multiple categories. Awards are given to individuals and also for significant "pages" -- well-designed editorial, features, front pages, and sports pages. 

In Best Overall awards, the Bulletin ranks in the province's top three for Best Special Section (Melanie Ward, Tanya Laframboise, Leah MacDonald, Jerry Alary and Lily Ryan) -- as well as for Best Website. The Pontiac Journal ranks in Quebec's top three for Best Advertising (Jesse Clouthier). 

In Writer's Awards, the Bulletin is part of the team that swept the Best French-Language Editorial category: Didier Périès shares the honours with the Pontiac Journal's François Carrier and Fred Ryan. In French-Language News Story, the Pontiac Journal took two of the three nominations, again thanks to both Carrier and Ryan. The Journal's editor, Allyson Beauregard, was nominated for the Bob Phillips Award for Best General Editorial, and she shares the nod with Carl Hager for Best Business Story of the year. 

The Best Graphic Design category has the Pontiac Journal (Jesse Clouthier) contending for best Small-Format Advertising (less than a half-page).

The winners of each category will be announced during the Association's AGM in June, and the complete lists of nominees can be found on the QCNA’s website.

 

The awards recognize significant accomplishments over the past year in most fields within the province's newspapers, indicating the range of services provided to their communities, from reporting to photography, layout and page design, to headlines and political cartoons to advertising design and sales to promote local businesses. “However, amid the contemporary controversy over false news and the manipulation of public opinion,” commented Bulletin publisher-editor Lily Ryan, “most newspapers' impressive efforts to edit and fact-check their reporting have yet to see these behind-the-scenes efforts recognized.” 

Overall, this year's nominations can assure readers in the Outaouais they are well-served – the five community newspapers across West Quebec took home nominations in virtually every category.