By Stephen Vance, Staff
Each year the Ontario Community Newspaper Association (OCNA) hosts an awards gala for its more than 300 member newspapers, and this year The Meaford Independent earned its very first OCNA Better Newspapers Premier award.
The Independent received a first place award in the Community Service category for our Municipal Election Guide issue (September 26, 2014). The OCNA Better Newspapers awards were presented on Friday May 22, at the Sheraton Centre hotel in Toronto.
“Excellent initiative on the part of the paper, not only for the information, but for the appealing visuals,” explained Montreal journalist Carmen Marie Fabio, who judged the category this year. “As an editor I know how important the visual component is in telling the story and engaging the reader.”
The other award winners in the Community Service category were the Richmond Hill/Thornhill Liberal, which received second place, and the Aylmer Express, which earned the third place award.
The OCNA was founded in 1950, and of its membership of more than 300 newspapers, the smallest newspaper circulates 279 copies weekly while the largest distributes 200,000 copies weekly. Thirty-three percent of community newspapers in Ontario circulate less than 5,000 copies weekly according to the OCNA.
Susanne Wussow, publisher of The Meaford Independent, was thrilled to learn about winning the award.
“Our fantastic team has to get all the credit, because they are amazing. I am so lucky to be working with them. And to receive this recognition from our peers is absolutely wonderful,” said Wussow.
