Gazette’s Secret Society runner-up in newspaper awards

Globe and Mail, Star lead the pack in prizes

The Globe and Mail took home the top prize in eight categories Friday night as the best of Canadian journalism was honoured at the 63rd annual National Newspaper Awards gala in Toronto.

The Toronto Star picked up the second-most wins with five NNAS.

The Gazette was a runner-up in the Special Project category for its year-long Secret Society series challenging Quebec’s culture of secrecy in the public sphere, covering everything from the safety of our roads to accountability in awarding municipal contracts. The prize in that category was won by the Vancouver Province for a project on elder abuse.

Ivanoh Demers of La Presse won the NNA for Feature Photography for a photo of Jack Layton backstage during an election stop in Quebec. Marc Beaudet of the Journal de Montréal won the prize for Editorial Cartooning.

Single NNAS also went to Getty Images, the Hamilton Spectator, the London Free Press, Reuters news service, the St. John’s Telegram and the Sarnia Observer.

Winners of the NNAS, the most prestigious prize in Canadian jour- nalism, receive cheques for $1,000 and a certificate of award. Runnersup receive citations of merit.

The Gazette’s nominated Secret Society project involved a team of reporters, artists, photographers, researchers and editors. The series, in print and online, included nearly 30 stories and features. The series examined the unwillingness of government officials to reveal information on everything from construction contracts to the pollution of public lands.

While the NNA nomination was for work done in 2011, the Secret Society series is an ongoing project at The Gazette.

To consult the Secret Society series online, visit montrealgazette. com/secretsociety

The Gazette was honoured with two NNAS in 2010. Charlie Fidelman won for her health reporting and Marian Scott won for feature writing.