Spec staff shine at newspaper awards
Reporters, columnists take home six awards after being nominated 13 times
Spectator journalists stood out at this year’s Ontario Newspaper Awards with Hamilton reporters and columnists taking home six of the 12 awards for which the paper was eligible.
Ten Spec writers were nominated a total of 13 times in seven categories at the 2021 awards; an annual celebration of Ontario journalism.
Crime and justice reporter Nicole O’Reilly took home two awards. Her feature on the shooting death of Good Samaritan Yosif Al-Hasnawi was picked as winner of the Feature Writing (over 25,000 circulation) category. Two paramedics were convicted for failing to adequately help Al-Hasnawi. The man who shot him was acquitted.
O’Reilly also won in the Enterprise Reporting category for a five-part analysis on Hamilton’s Mafia. The Trigger series reports on never-before heard details of Hamilton’s Mob war following the trial of the only person charged with murder in the death of Angelo Musitano and Mila Barberi.
ONA judges awarded Susan Clairmont top prize in Beat Reporting (over 25,000 circulation) for writing on “a series of appalling failures in Ontario’s justice system.” Clairmont’s entries included a column on Hamilton Police Service’s response to an incident of racial profiling, an article detailing the end of the city’s longest domestic violence trial, and a column on The Spec’s decision-making process on which sexual violence trials to cover.
Sebastian Bron’s story on the life and death of Marilyn Mitton won top prize of General News Feature. Bron details months of complaints Mitton filed detailing the harassment she suffered by the man who would be convicted of her stabbing death.
Stories about a local man who became a standup paddleboard magazine man-of-the-year following a life-altering neurological disorder and an obituary for former Ticats tough guy Angelo Mosca helped Steve Milton win the Sports Writing award.
Finally, Spectator contributor Mark McNeil won in the Column/Opinion Writing category for his Flashbacks columns on Hamilton history.
Runners-up included Joanna Frketich and Maria Iqbal in two categories; and Steve Buist, Sebastian Bron and Katrina Clarke in one each. Grant LaFleche, who recently joined the Hamilton Spectator, is runner-up in one category for his reporting at The St. Catharines Standard.
Editor-in-chief Paul Berton said The Spectator’s great showing at the awards is “another indication of the great journalism produced by the entire newsroom, and their commitment to the readers and the community.”