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Westerly News honoured with 11 national awards

Tofino-Ucluelet newspaper hauls in Canadian Community Newspaper Awards
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The Westerly News recently received 11 national awards from News Media Canada’s Canadian Community Newspaper Awards.

The Westerly News hauled in 11 national awards for 2020 and 2021.

The Canadian Community Newspaper Awards announced two year’s worth of trophies on Nov. 4. The CCNA’s had been on hiatus since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are honoured to continue this annual recognition of the outstanding achievements of the community newspaper industry,” read a statement from News Media Canada on its website.

The Westerly received a trio of general excellence awards for 2020 with silvers in Best Front Page, Best Editorial Page and a bronze in Best All-Round Newspaper. That trophy crop was topped by 2021’s general excellence awards tally, which saw the Westerly receive three second place finishes in those same categories.

Along with the general excellence hardware, editor Andrew Bailey and journalist Nora O’Malley each received individual honours.

Bailey earned a second place award in 2020’s Best Feature Story division for his profile of artist Hjalmer Wenstob finding ‘wonderful moments’ in isolation.

Bailey also received second place in the 2021 Best Local Civic Journalism division for his reporting on Tofino’s handling of the Municipal and Regional District Tax and a third place award in the 2021 Best Business Writing division for his coverage of local resorts reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic.

O’Malley won third place in the 2021 Best Spot News photo for her shot of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau during their ill-timed vacation to Tofino on Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

O’Malley also received second place in the 2021 Best Business Writing division for her story, ‘Tofino’s first cannabis store opens.’

“The Westerly News team is honoured to live and work in the amazing communities we cover and the national awards we received reflect our dedication to serving the West Coast and sharing its stories to the very best of our ability,” Bailey said. “We will continue to strive to make our region’s local newspaper one that our readers can be proud of.”

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