Coast Reporter has been named best B.C. community newspaper in its circulation class and also scored first-place wins in photography and for best ad campaign.
The 2021 Ma Murray awards were announced June 10 during an online ceremony hosted by the B.C. and Yukon Community News Media Association (BCYCNA).
Coast Reporter received gold for general excellence in the 12,001 to 33,000 circulation class, finishing ahead of other finalists Pique Newsmagazine and Delta Optimist.
In the individual awards, reporter Sophie Woodrooffe won gold in the portrait/personality photo category for her Oct. 9, 2020 front-page photo of school bus driver Rick Kobus, who resigned over the SD46 mask policy.
Woodrooffe also won silver in the business writing category for her Dec. 24, 2020 story, “New businesses lose out on access to key federal benefits.”
On the advertising side, production manager Dimitri Shvartsman and graphic designer Eric Pinfold brought home gold for best ad campaign with “Silver Stone Heights.”
Shvartsman and Pinfold also won silver in the ad design over 10,000 circulation category for “Climate Action Speaker Series.”
This was the second time in three years that Coast Reporter finished first for newspaper excellence in its circulation class, winning the gold also in 2019 and silver in 2020.
The awards are presented annually by the BCYCNA and recognize the best work produced by its 93 member newspapers, which have a combined readership of close to two million.
