Durham College Chronicle takes top spot at Ontario Community Newspapers Association Better Newspaper Awards

Pictured here are issues of the Chronicle produced by Durham College students. The newspaper was named the top newspaper among colleges and universities in Ontario for 2009 at the Ontario Community Newspapers Association Better Newspaper Awards held May 14.

Congratulations is being extended to the Durham College Chronicle, the college newspaper, as it was recently awarded first place in General Excellence at the Ontario Community Newspapers Association (OCNA) Better Newspaper Awards for producing the top newspaper among colleges and universities in Ontario.

Not only did it receive first place overall, it ranked first in Advertising design and Don Campbell, a second-year Journalism student, came in second place in the Student Feature writing category.

“It was great,” said Campbell who covers campus content and strives to write noteworthy pieces throughout the year. “I always thought my reporting was better than my feature writing but I guess not.”

The OCNA is a non-profit industry association that was created in 1950 in Burlington, Ont. It hosts the Better Newspaper Awards each year to recognize community newspapers for their achievements.

Gerald Rose, editor-in-chief of the Chronicle, was very pleased with the win. “We do our best every year and the students work hard,” said Rose. “A lot of students deserve to win awards.”

The Chronicle also proved to have strong community news in terms of events related to the college, near perfect sports coverage and good presentation. According to the judges, it didn’t have any glaring weaknesses in other categories, making it the top student newspaper in Ontario.

“Winning isn’t possible all the time, but if we can finish in the top three that’s pretty good,” added Rose.

Advertising Professor Kevan Drinkwalter from the School of Media, Art & Design, found the win encouraging and was pleased that working late nights paid off. “It’s really validating for all,” said Drinkwalter. “I put congrats on Facebook immediately because this isn’t my moment, it’s the student’s moment.”

Having not won last year, this year’s win is a great achievement by the Chronicle staff with all instructors proud of their current students and the motivation being created for future students.