We are pleased to announce the winners of the 4th annual Digital Publishing Awards, which were revealed at this evening’s Soiree. The DPA soiree saw Gold and Silver winners presented in 23 various categories, with Gold winners in individual categories each receiving a $500 cheque. Host Eternity Martis opened the soiree by reminding the attendees that the night was about celebrating every story nominated, as big as Mount Everest and as small as SugarBearHair vitamins, and all of the creators who made those stories possible.
GENERAL EXCELLENCE IN DIGITAL PUBLISHING AWARDS
The General Excellence awards were presented in three divisions: small, medium, and large.
In the small division, The Sprawl took Gold. Judges referred to this publication as refreshing and embracing the spirit of digital to convey an unwavering focus. They also cited the satisfying mobile experience and smart audio.
Maclean’s was the Gold winner in the medium division, judges noting that its video offerings and off-platform social media initiatives helped it stand out among the other contenders.
The large division Gold-winner was CBC News, which—according to the judging panel—displayed exemplary design and innovation in its special projects and multimedia offerings to engage its digital audience. Its digital content shows a deliberate process that complements its journalism.
LEADERSHIP AWARD & EMERGING EXCELLENCE AWARD
This year, women dominated both the Leadership Award and the Emerging Excellence category: Kathy Vey (TVO, Executive Producer of Digital) is the first woman to receive the award, and all three of the Emerging Excellence nominees were women.
Craig Silverman of Buzzfeed introduced Kathy Vey, describing her, and her work, as “the quiet force behind some of the most remarkable and ambitious data journalism and local journalism initiates in Canada over the past decade.”
Sofia Misenheimer of Art/iculation was the recipient of the prestigious Emerging Excellence award. When discussing the merits of the applicants, the jury had this to say of Sofia: “She is a driven individual who is only going to continue to make a positive impact through her work in the digital media landscape.”
WINNERS HIGHLIGHTS
This year, a number of first-time nominated publications won their first Gold and Silver awards, including Art/iculation in Emerging Excellence (Sofia Misenheimer), Magazine web 100 degrés (Marianne Boire, François Grenier, and Françoise Ruby) who won Gold for “Réimaginer nos aménagements,” and SooToday (David Helwig) who won Silver for “Bankruptcy protection for Sault’s main employer sparks fight over port.” The latter two wins took place in the Best News Coverage (Small Newsroom) category.
Air Canada enRoute’s “Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2018” is a four-time Best Digital Editorial Package nominee, this year winning Silver.
“In rural New Brunswick, a transgender woman charts a new path” won Gold in two categories: Best Online Video: Feature and Best Feature Article: Short. Congratulations to all of the creators who worked on the piece.
Digital storytellers from Hakai Magazine took home Gold in Best Science and Technology Storytelling (for “The Noose Beneath the Waves” by Sasha Chapman) and Silver in Best Arts & Culture Storytelling (for “The Oracle of Oyster River” by Brian Payton).
VICE swept the Best Online Video: Mini-Doc category: VICE Québec won Gold for “Souldia : à double tranchant” while VICE Canada took home Silver for “Fear and Loading: Meet the NRA’s Most Wanted Customer.”
Here’s the full list of publications that won Gold or Silver at the 2019 DPAs:
2019 Digital Publishing Awards Results
Best News Coverage
GOLD
Hustle in the oil patch: Inside a looming financial and environmental crisis
Jeff Lewis, Jeffrey Jones, Chen Wang, Renata D’Aliesio, Christopher Manza, Matthew French, John Sopinski, Murat Yükselir, Melissa Tait, Todd Korol, Brennan Higginbotham, Theresa Suzuki
The Globe and Mail
SILVER
Fentanyl: Making a killing
Sam Cooper, Andrew Russell, Stewart Bell, Brent Rose, Carolyn Jarvis, Ben Jonah, James Armstrong, Online Video team, Network News Desk, Global News Graphics Department, Global News Copy Desk, Global News Social Desk
Global News
Best News Coverage (Small Newsroom)
GOLD
Réimaginer nos aménagements
Marianne Boire, François Grenier, Françoise Ruby
Magazine web 100 degrés
SILVER
Bankruptcy protection for Sault’s main employer sparks fight over port
David Helwig
SooToday
Best Personal Essay
GOLD
I wanted an abortion in Nova Scotia, but all around, barriers still remained
Jessica Leeder, Winnie T. Frick, Bryan Gee, Lisan Jutras
The Globe and Mail
SILVER
The Waiting Room
Christian Allaire
Hazlitt
Best Column
GOLD
Queeries
Peter Knegt
CBC Arts
SILVER
Dorothy Woodend, culture columnist
Dorothy Woodend
The Tyee
Best Feature Article: Short
GOLD
In rural New Brunswick, a transgender woman charts a new path
Lindsay Jones, Matt Brown, Timothy Moore, Scott Munn
The Globe and Mail
SILVER
The Water Carriers
Alannah Campbell, Karen Levine, Pauline Holdsworth, Ruby Buiza, Andre Mayer, Lakshine Sathiyanathan
CBC Radio – The Sunday Edition
Best Digital Editorial Package
GOLD
Sex Ed: Beyond the Classroom
Lauren McKeon, Natalie Vineberg, Judy Ziyi Gu, Viviane Fairbank, Samia Madwar, Angela Misri, Dmitry Beniaminov, Sharon Nadeem, Jackson Weaver, Tajja Isen, Danielle Kinahan, Sebastian Leck, Amy van den Berg, Daina Goldfinger, Allison Baker, Sydney Hamilton, Seila Rizvic, Daniel Viola, Erin Sylvester, Anna Fitzpatrick, Lauren Vogel, Erica Lenti, Yasir Khan, Lindsay Nixon, Sue Carter, Eliza Robertson, Anubha Momin, Kate Sloan
The Walrus
SILVER
Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2018
Gabrielle Simpson, Stephanie Mercier-Voyer, Yvonne Miou, Stefanie Sosiak, Danielle Groen, Sarah Musgrave, Nancy Matsumoto
Air Canada enRoute
Best Feature Article: Long
GOLD
Murder on the Prairies
Jana Pruden, Laura Blenkinsop, Danielle Webb, Chris Manza, Victor Dwyer
The Globe and Mail
SILVER
The Road
Stephanie Nolen, Aaron Vincent Elkaim, Laura Blenkinsop, Christopher Manza, Angela Murphy, Rachel Wine
The Globe and Mail
Fiction
GOLD
The Shadows
Kaitlin Prest, CBC Podcasts, Phoebe Wang, Sharon Mashihi, Shani Aviram, Yasmine Mathurin, Olivia Pasquarelli, Adriana Komura, Marina Lee Koslock
CBC Podcasts
Best Service Feature
GOLD
Hidden Canada
Maryam Siddiqi, Christopher Manza, Rachel Wine, Benjamin MacDonald, Alanna Cavanagh
The Globe and Mail
SILVER
Back to the land
Andre Mayer, Dave Pizer, Evan Mitsui
CBC News
Best Science and Technology Storytelling
GOLD
The Noose Beneath the Waves
Sasha Chapman, Shanna Baker
Hakai Magazine
SILVER
The million-dollar drug
Kelly Crowe, Dave Pizer, Craig Chivers
CBC News
Best Online Video: Short
GOLD
The truth about SugarBearHair vitamins
Roxanna Woloshyn, Anne MacRae, Charlsie Agro, Stephanie Dudley, Dave MacIntosh
CBC News
SILVER
Mums who scrum
Melissa Tait
The Globe and Mail
Best Arts & Culture Storytelling
GOLD
Alex Janvier’s colourful life
Marty Klinkenberg, Amber Bracken
The Globe and Mail
SILVER
The Oracle of Oyster River
Brian Payton
Hakai Magazine
Best Online Video: Feature
GOLD
In rural New Brunswick, a transgender woman charts a new path
Scott Munn, Lindsay Jones, Matt Brown, Michael Belyea, Timothy Moore
The Globe and Mail
SILVER
We the North Grandma
Donnovan Bennett, Graham Runciman, Maggie Naylor, Scott Simpson
Sportsnet
Best Online Video: Mini-Doc
GOLD
Souldia : à double tranchant
Simon Coutu, Jean-Pierre Bastien, Zacharie Fay, David Valiquette, William Gignac, Maude M. Ouellet
VICE (Québec)
SILVER
Fear and Loading: Meet the NRA’s Most Wanted Customer
Sofi Langis, Manisha Krishnan, Spencer Chumbley, Danny Patterson, Taylor Rivers, Heidi Besner
VICE Canada
Best Podcast
GOLD
Missing and Murdered: Finding Cleo
Connie Walker, Marnie Luke, Jennifer Fowler, Mieke Anderson, Heather Evans
CBC News
SILVER
Love Me
Mira Burt-Wintonick, Cristal Duhaime, Sarah Geis
CBC Podcasts
Best Digital Design
GOLD
On a redessiné le Québec
Marc Lajoie, Melanie Julien, Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski, Santiago Salcido, Martine Roy
Radio-Canada
Best Photo Storytelling
GOLD
Living in limbo
Renaud Philippe, Jeremy Agius, Matt French, Theresa Suzuki, Patrick Dell, Michelle Zilio, Carol Toller, Carine Abouseif, Tu Thanh Ha
The Globe and Mail
SILVER
Proms from coast to coast
Ming Wong, Jeremy Agius, Theresa Suzuki, Melissa Tait, Jackie Dives, Darren Calabrese, Todd Korol, Caroline Alphonso
The Globe and Mail
Best Social Storytelling
GOLD
As It Happens 50th anniversary animations
Ben Shannon, Kate Swoger, Sheena Goodyear
CBC Radio – As It Happens
SILVER
Weed did it.
Sasha Kalra, Daman Lamba, Jill Krajewski, Laura Lloyd, Kate McKerroll, Tyler Hughes, Victoria Pandeirada
VICE Canada
Best Editorial Newsletter
GOLD
What on Earth?
Emily Chung, Andre Mayer, Nicole Mortillaro
CBC News
SILVER
Le courrier électoral
Geneviève Tremblay, Stéphane Baillargeon, Cédric Gagnon, Jean-Philippe Corbeil, Simon Poirier
Le Devoir
Innovation in Digital Storytelling
GOLD
Olympics interactive graphics
Timothy Moore, Christopher Manza, Trish McAlaster
The Globe and Mail
SILVER
Forever Changed
William Wolfe-Wylie, Dwight Friesen, Richard Grasley, Sannah Choi, Kate Cornick, Farrah Merali, Andre Mayer, Paul Borkwood, David Donnelly, Albert Leung, Martin Trainor
CBC News
Emerging Excellence
GOLD
Sofia Misenheimer
Art/iculation
General Excellence in Digital Publishing
GOLD
The Sprawl (Small Publication)
Maclean’s (Medium Publication)
CBC News (Large Publication)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The National Media Awards Foundation is incredibly grateful for the support of: the Government of Canada, the Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Creates, Reader’s Digest Foundation, and KCK Global. We are also thankful for the support of Cision, Magazines Canada, PUSH Media, Very Good Studios and Vividata.
Our sincerest thanks to this year’s judges, who graciously volunteered their time and expertise, evaluating the hundreds of entries submitted to this year’s competition.
Next year’s call for entries will open in January. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.