Standard series earns national award nomination
St. Catharines Standard journalist Grant LaFleche has been nominated for a National Newspaper Award for his series about serial sex abuser and ex-Catholic priest Donald Grecco.
The nominations for the 69th NNAs — Canada’s top journalism prizes — were announced Monday afternoon.
LaFleche’s series, The Wolf in Priest’s Clothing, is one of three finalists for the local reporting category. Also nominated are Randy Richmond of the London Free Press and Amy Smart of the Victoria Times Colonist.
LaFleche’s series, nominated for an Ontario Newspaper Award earlier this month, told the story of one of Grecco’s victims, William O’Sullivan.
Grecco, sentenced to 18 months in prison last October, is set to appear at a parole hearing on April 13.
There are 63 NNA nominations in 21 categories, selected from 881 entries for work published in 2017. The Globe and Mail has the most nominations with 18.
TorStar newspapers, including The Standard, earned 14 nominations. The Toronto Star has 12 nominations and The Hamilton Spectator has one.
Monday’s NNA nomination is the third for LaFleche.
In 2004, he was nominated for a series on boxing and 2014 he was nominated for his series on the Welland Canal fallen workers.
The winners will be announced on May 4 in Toronto.