The NMAF presented Gold and Silver awards in 23 categories at the Digital Publishing Awards Soiree, held on May 29th, 2018 at One King West Hotel in Toronto. The event was hosted by Maclean’s editor Adrian Lee.
In most categories, the Digital Publishing Awards Gold winners received a $500 cheque alongside their award.
GENERAL EXCELLENCE IN DIGITAL PUBLISHING
The 2018 award for General Excellence in Digital Publishing was presented in three divisions: small, medium, and large publications.
The Deep won the Gold Medal for General Excellence in Digital Publishing: Small Publications.
“They’re doing remarkable work with a very small staff, using their resources intelligently so that each story has the greatest impact. Their mandate—to tell in depth stories based on the East Coast—feels not only necessary, especially with the erosion of local news, but like one that they are well-positioned to carry out, considering their balance of a considered design with engaging stories,” remarked the digital publishing awards jury. “As traditional publishers grapple with diminished capacity, it will take efforts like those of The Deep, to ensure deeper, longer stories are still told and more importantly, heard!”
Honourable Mention in General Excellence in Digital Publishing: Small Publications was awarded to Fjord Review and National Observer.
Hakai Magazine received the Gold medal for General Excellence in Digital Publishing: Medium Publications.
“Hakai is the realization of what a great digital magazine can be. With beautiful imagery, clean design, crisp writing, and well-integrated digital features, Hakai sets the standard for a high-quality digital publication,” said the Digital Publishing Awards jury. “Everything about the site is in support of its content and the reader, as it should be.”
Hakai Magazine received six other awards in various categories, including a second Gold in Best Online Video – Feature.
Honourable Mention General Excellence in Digital Publishing: Medium Publications was given to Passport and Today’s Parent.
The winner of the General Excellence in Digital Publishing: Large Publication award went to The Globe and Mail. The jury had this to say: “The Globe and Mail team produced an extremely innovative body of work. Their editorial mandate was not only fulfilled, it was surpassed and truly represented the highest of journalistic standards.”
Le Devoir and Winnipeg Free Press received Honourable Mention in Digital Publishing: Large Publications.
EMERGING EXCELLENCE AWARD
Elizabeth Melito of CBC News was recognized as this year’s recipient of the Emerging Excellence Award. The award honours an individual whose early work in Canadian digital publishing shows the highest degree of craft and promise.
The Emerging Excellence Award jury was “exceptionally impressed by Elizabeth’s clear demonstration of leadership and initiative in a large and respected organization like CBC News. She joined CBC News, her first media job, in 2015. In a short time she has earned a high level of respect and responsibility and has developed two custom long-form development tools that have been rolled out nationally at CBC.”
DIGITAL PUBLISHING LEADERSHIP AWARD
Brodie Fenlon, the Senior Director of Daily News and Bureaus for the CBC, was the recipient of the 2018 Digital Publishing Leadership Award. The award honours an individual whose career contributions to Canadian digital publishing deserve recognition and celebration.
WINNERS HIGHLIGHTS
Gold winning publications HuffPost Québec, ICI Radio-Canada Première, The Deep and The Sprawl all captured their first Digital Publishing Awards this year.
The leading publication in this year’s Digital Publishing Awards is The Globe and Mail. The “Unfounded” investigation—led by Dennis Choquett, Robyn Doolittle, Laura Blenkinsop, Jeremy Agius, and Michael Pereira—won Gold in both Best Digital Editorial Package and Best News Coverage.
Hakai Magazine was also a top-winning publication, receiving two Gold medals, two Silver medals, and three Honourable Mentions. Jude Isabella, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, contributed to three of those winning pieces.
“Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2017,” published in Air Canada enRoute, won two silver medals, in the categories of Best Online Video: Short and Best Digital Editorial Package.
Global News (globalnews.ca) was a two-time winner: “Canada’s #ToxicSecret” was the Gold winner in the Best Social Storytelling category, while “Fire Watch: B.C. Wildfire Coverage” was the Silver winner in the Best News Coverage category.
In addition, Gold winning publications include Canadian Art, CBC News, Global News (globalnews.ca), Hakai Magazine, HuffPost Quebec, ICI Radio-Canada Première, The Globe and Mail, The Sprawl, The Walrus, and TVO.org.
Taking home Silver medals are Air Canada enRoute, BuzzFeed Canada, CBC News, CBC Original Podcasts, Discourse Media, Global News (globalnews.ca), Hakai Magazine, Hazlitt, National Observer, Options politiques, The Globe and Mail, Today’s Parent, Toronto Life, and VICE.
Visit live.digitalpublishingawards.ca to view the winners in all 23 categories. Follow the Digital Publishing Awards on Twitter @DPAwards and #DPA18.
2018 DIGITAL PUBLISHING AWARDS RESULTS
Emerging Excellence Award
Elizabeth Melito, CBC News
Digital Publishing Leadership Award
Brodie Fenlon, CBC News
General Excellence in Digital Publishing: Small
The Deep
General Excellence in Digital Publishing: Medium
Hakai Magazine
General Excellence in Digital Publishing: Large
The Globe and Mail
Best Digital Editorial Package
GOLD: Unfounded, The Globe and Mail
SILVER: Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2017, Air Canada enRoute
Best Blog or Online-Only Column
GOLD: Lauren McKeon, TVO.org
SILVER: Ici et ailleurs: Chronique d’Alain Noël, Options politiques
Best News Coverage: Small Newsroom
GOLD : The Sprawl: 2017 Election Edition, The Sprawl
SILVER: Kinder Morgan’s Pipeline in Canada, National Observer
Best News Coverage
GOLD: Unfounded, The Globe and Mail
SILVER: Fire Watch: B.C. Wildfire Coverage, Global News (globalnews.ca)
Best Feature Article: Short
GOLD: Aleppo Mayor, written by Cathal Kelly and published in The Globe and Mail
SILVER: This Is How Your Hyperpartisan Political News Gets made, written by Craig Silverman and published in BuzzFeed Canada
Best Feature Article: Long
GOLD: The Making of Joseph Boyden, written by Eric Andrew-Gee and published in The Globe and Mail
SILVER: Death of a Modern Wolf, written by J.B. MacKinnon and published in Hakai Magazine
Fiction
GOLD: Young Tomorrow, written by Sean Michaels and published in The Globe and Mail
SILVER: Half-Pipe, written by Zoe Whittall and published in Hazlitt
Best Personal Essay
GOLD: Black on Bay Street, written by Hadiya Roderique and published in The Globe and Mail
SILVER: Kids of addiction, written by Trevor Jang and published in Discourse Media
Best Arts & Culture Story
GOLD: A Road Trip with Christopher Pratt, written by Mireille Egan and published in Canadian Art
SILVER: Kent Monkman: The modern touch of an old master, written by Dakshana Bascaramurty and published in The Globe and Mail
Best Science and Technology Story
GOLD: Understanding the quantum computing revolution, written by Ivan Semeniuk and published in The Globe and Mail
SILVER: Watts in the Water, written by Bruce Grierson and published in Hakai Magazine
Best Service Feature: Lifestyle
GOLD: Le Montréal oublié, written by Daphnée Hacker-B. and published in HuffPost Québec
SILVER: Where to Eat Now, written by Mark Pupo and published in Toronto Life
Best Service Feature: Family & Health
GOLD: How do I talk to my five-year-old about white supremacy?, written by Kalli Anderson and published in The Walrus
SILVER: Fortunate Son, written by Erin Anderssen and published in The Globe and Mail
Best Online Video: Short
GOLD: How close are we to the end of the world? Check the Doomsday Clock, The Globe and Mail
SILVER: Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2017 – Battuto, Air Canada enRoute
Best Online Video: Feature
GOLD: Here Be Tiny Dragons (and Other Micro Beasts), Hakai Magazine
SILVER: The ultimate gift: How two dads finally got their son, Today’s Parent
Best Online Video: Mini-Doc
GOLD: Dancing Towards the Light, CBC News
SILVER, Age of Consent, VICE
Best Podcast & Audio Storytelling
GOLD: Disparue(s), ICI Radio-Canada Première
SILVER: Someone Knows Something – Dee & Moore, CBC Original Podcasts
Best Digital Design
GOLD: Census 2016, CBC News
SILVER: The Globe and Mail, The Globe and Mail
Best Photo Storytelling
GOLD: Canada through the lens of Syrian refugees, The Globe and Mail
SILVER: Single Mothers of Afghanistan, The Globe and Mail
Best Social Storytelling
GOLD: Canada’s #ToxicSecret, Global News (globalnews.ca)
SILVER: Coming to Canada: The Immigration and Refugee System, CBC News
Best Digital Initiative
GOLD: A City Destroyed: Experience the Halifax Explosion, CBC News
SILVER: Weigh Anchor, The Globe and Mail
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Digital Publishing Awards gratefully acknowledges the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Canadian Periodical Fund, the Ontario Arts Council and the Ontario Media Development Corporation.
The NMAF thanks its partners and generous sponsors: Cision, DDI Canada, Reader’s Digest Foundation andVery Good Studios.
The NMAF offers its sincere thanks to the highly skilled professionals who generously contributed their time and expertise as judges of the Digital Publishing Awards competition.
ABOUT THE DIGITAL PUBLISHING AWARDS
The Digital Publishing Awards promote and reward the achievements of those who create digital publishing content in Canada—the writers and editors, designers and developers, video and podcast producers, photographers and illustrators, and many others. The DPA program recognizes, celebrates, and promotes to a national audience the innovative publishing teams that produce digital content in Canadian media.
A total of 79 Canadian digital publications participated in the DPAs, submitting the best of their digital content, design and innovation from the past year for consideration in 23 awards categories. 78 individuals volunteered their time, their expertise, and their passion for digital publishing in serving as judges for this year’s awards. They nominated 106 entries from 37 different digital publications for this year’s awards.