Two teams of students from our Journalism program took home first and second place in the Student Feature Writing category at the 2018 Better Newspapers Competition hosted by the Ontario Community Newspapers Association (OCNA).
Proud @centennialjourn winners show off the hardware they collected in the #bncawards category for student feature writing. Congrats to everyone involved including @bobbyhristova, @RushanthiK, Ellen Samek, @jessicamlam and @ThatArabKeeper @StoryArtsCentre @CentennialEDU pic.twitter.com/PkaLQRhB9g
— Tim Doyle (@TJDoyle) April 6, 2019
The awards were handed out during a gala event on April 6 in Toronto. The OCNA hosts the awards each year to recognize the outstanding work produced each week by their member newspapers and to showcase it to their readers.
Congratulations on these well-deserved awards!
First Place – Student Feature Writing
- Toronto’s missing and murdered gay men
- Journalists: Bobby Hristova, Taylor Bridger, Sergio Arangio, Rushanthi Kesunathan and Anjelica Balatbat.
- 'Great job putting a personal touch on one of Canada's biggest news stories of the past few years,' Student Feature Writing category judge Luke Edwards said in the BNC 2018 Award Results booklet. 'This team reported on some very difficult topics with professionalism and clarity. Solid, clean writing let the story shine.'
Second Place – Student Feature Writing
- How Syrian refugees are adjusting to their new lives in Toronto
- Journalists: Trisha Sales, Ellen Samek, Mouhamad Rachini, Jessica Lam and Louise Allyn Palma.
- 'Incredible depth to this story and a good mix of classic storytelling with factual reporting on a topic that gripped Toronto and all of Canada,' said Edwards, a reporter for Niagara this Week and editor of Niagara Farmers' Monthly.
For a complete list of winners please visit ocna.org/BNCAwards or check out the BNC 2018 Award Results booklet: