Postmedia wins five National Newspaper Awards

London reporter saluted as journalist of the year

Postmedia journalists took home five awards on Friday at the annual National Newspaper Awards, with a reporter from the London Free Press recognized as both the journalist of the year and the best in local reporting.

Reporters and photographers with the Ottawa Citizen and Ottawa Sun won three awards.

Randy Richmond of the Free Press was selected as the 2019 journalist of the year by a panel of three former National Newspaper Award winners.

He also won the local reporting category for a story about how a police officer assaulted a woman while his fellow officers stood by and then “spun it all into a misleading story about a dangerous suspect who had assaulted an officer.”

“It is strangely appropriate to be celebrating the best of Canadian journalism in the midst of a pandemic,” said Lucinda Chodan, senior vice-president, editorial, of Postmedia.

“It’s a time when millions of Canadians are turning to printed newspapers and news websites to find credible information about COVID-19. The NNA winners and nominees represent just how good that journalism can be.”

Julie Oliver, a photographer at Postmedia Ottawa, received a win for her feature photo of three swimmers preparing for a swim at a nudist colony in cool summer weather.

Wayne Cuddington, also of Postmedia Ottawa, won the breaking news photo category for his photo of a woman with police after a man was shot dead in the city’s Byward Market neighbourhood.

Postmedia Ottawa’s Andrew Duffy won the William Southam award for long feature reporting for his narrative on the passengers who were on a city bus that crashed, killing three and injuring 23.

Postmedia, which owns major daily newspapers across Canada, including the Calgary Herald and the Calgary Sun, had numerous finalists among those up for awards.

Postmedia Calgary reporter Alanna Smith received a citation of merit for stories showcasing her work covering domestic violence.

Sammy Hudes, also a Postmedia Calgary reporter, was cited for his multi-part feature following the journey of recovery of Ryan Straschnitzki, the Humboldt Broncos hockey player who was paralyzed when the team bus was involved in a Saskatchewan highway crash in April 2018.

The incident killed 16 people and left 13 injured.

Toronto Sun photographer Stan Behal was cited for his iconic photo of Kawhi Leonard’s series-winning shot for the Toronto Raptors, a heartbeat before the ball went in. He’s won that category twice before, and the news photo category once.

Unlike previous years, there was no gala for the awards due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, they were announced via webcast on Friday.