Steinbach weekly newspaper named best in class in country

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This article was published 17/07/2018 (2925 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Carillon has been named best all-around newspaper in its class in Canada.

The honour was announced Monday by the Canadian Community Newspaper Awards. The Carillon won seven awards in total.

“This is really a nice honour when you’re looking at our peer group of newspapers across Canada,” said Laurie Finley, Carillon publisher.

It’s the first time in many years that the weekly newspaper, based out of Steinbach and serving southeastern Manitoba, has won the award. It still has a plaque in its boardroom from winning in 1958. It has won numerous times for best all-round newspaper in its class in Manitoba.

The Canadian award was for newspapers with circulation between 4,000 to 6,500.

The paper also won first place honours for best editorial page and third place for best front page in its class.

Carillon editor Grant Burr’s winning editorial of Nov. 30, 2017, was critical of Provencher MP Ted Falk for his reaction to the Liberal government’s historic apology to LGBTQ federal workers.

“It’s a really big honour for us,” said Burr. “Every year we usually grab one or two national awards but to win this many is an exceptional year.”

The sports department under Carillon sports editor Terry Frey took second place for sports coverage in its circulation class.

Carillon photographs were also acknowledged by judges. Former reporter Adriana Mingo took second place award in the best spot news category for a photo of an arm-wrestling competition at Lorette’s winter carnival. Reporter Jordan Ross was bestowed third place in the best feature photo category for a shot of chariot racing during the Morris Stampede.

“It just goes to show when you do good work it gets rewarded,” Finley said. “We’re lucky to have an editorial staff that puts their passion, their heart and soul into the paper.”

The Carillon underwent a redesign in the past year and Finley said it freshened up the papers. “We certainly had a lot of reader comments on the fresh look and everyone seems pleased with it.”

The awards are judged from entries published in 2017 from newspapers across the country.

Earlier this year, the Carillon won 11 provincial awards in the Manitoba Community Newspapers Association’s annual awards competition.

The Carillon is published by FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership, which also publishes the Winnipeg Free Press and the Brandon Sun.

— Staff