Premier Awards - Outstanding Columnist ( Circulation up to 1499,Circulation 1500 to 3999,Circulation 4000 to 6499,Circulation 6500 to 9999,Circulation 10000 to 12499,Circulation 12500 to 17499,Circulation 17500 and over,Digital - Population under 10K,Digital - Population 10-99K,Digital - Population 100K plus)
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Place Name:
First Place
Contestant Name:
The Lake Report (Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON)
Entry Title:
Ross Robinson
Entry Credit:
Ross Robinson
Judge Comment:
Ross Robinson has an engaging writing style that he uses to challenge conventional thinking on medical tourism, to espouse his love of travel and to skewer the NHL all-star game. Clever word play – he’d rather be a proctologist than a dentist – add some snap to his easy flowing style.
Place Name:
Second Place
Contestant Name:
Hill Times (Ottawa, ON)
Entry Title:
Rose LeMay | The Hill Times columnist
Entry Credit:
Rose LeMay
Judge Comment:
Rose LeMay’s column’s are a great addition to the Hill Times. She forcefully argues for a national Indigenous history museum to counter the Great Canadian Lie, espouses the “bold” idea that politicians should have a minimum level of knowledge on Indigenous topic in order to qualify to be elected, and deftly connects the deaths of Indigenous people at the hands of police with more work on reconciliation to be done.
Place Name:
Third Place
Contestant Name:
The Lake Report (Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON)
Entry Title:
Garth Turner
Entry Credit:
Garth Turner
Judge Comment:
Garth Turner comes home to Niagara-on-the-Lake, bringing his wealth of knowledge on markets and real estate to the Lake Report. Despite decades of experience analyzing markets and the economy, he does a nice job of making it local for his Niagara audience, comparing house values in NOTL to Youngstown, NY, and also speculating about what the Trump presidency will mean for the finances of readers.
Competition Comment:
There was a great array of columns in this category this year. From slice of life articles about random acts of kindness, expertly written analyses of urban planning, and hot takes on what city hall got wrong and why, these columnists must have entertained and informed their readers. All of these communities are well-served by these columnists who put it all out there in order to make a point to their readers. I hope readers recognize the value of what these columnists add to their local papers.
