Premier Awards - Best Community Newspaper Website ( Circulation up to 1499,Circulation 1500 to 3999,Circulation 4000 to 6499,Circulation 6500 to 9999)
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Place Name:
First Place
Contestant Name:
The Independent of Petrolia and Central Lambton,ON
Entry Title:
The Independent of Petrolia and Central Lambton
Judge Comment:
The winning site stands out with rotating headline stories under "NEWS NOW," an easy-to-find newsletter sign-up feature, and a visually engaging hover effect where images shift from black & white to color. Most importantly, it offers strong local content that reflects the community, with frequent posts across diverse topics and consistent updates throughout the week.
Place Name:
Second Place
Contestant Name:
The Haldimand Press (Haldimand County, ON)
Entry Title:
haldimandpress.com
Judge Comment:
A strong local community website with clear organization and easy navigation. It features extensive local news coverage across 15 regions, clearly categorized content, and strong, ongoing engagement through active social media channels.
Place Name:
Third Place
Contestant Name:
Nunatsiaq News (Nunavut/Nunavik, NU)
Entry Title:
nunatsiaq.com
Entry Credit:
Nunatsiaq News Staff
Judge Comment:
An appealing website design with a clean, visually navigable layout. The site reflects its community well and is rich in content. Strong use of photography—with varied image sizes—adds visual interest, and the site scores well in immediacy of news delivery.
Competition Comment:
While recognizing the unique challenges faced by local independent publishers—where the website may not always be the top priority—it’s clear that there is significant room for improvement across all entries. Key areas for growth include more consistent content scheduling throughout the week, enhancing reader engagement through features such as polls and opinion sections, and shifting the mindset toward digital-first publishing, where stories are posted online ahead of print. These improvements can help strengthen the online presence and better serve readers in an increasingly digital news environment.
