Nominees Announced for the 2018 Digital Publishing Awards
TORONTO, April 26, 2018 — The National Media Awards Foundation (NMAF) is excited to announce the 2018 nominees for the 3rd annual Digital Publishing Awards (DPAs), the most prestigious program recognizing ex-cellence in the content and creation of Canadian digital publications.
This year, 79 Canadian digital publications entered the DPAs, submitting entries for consideration in 23 awards categories. The top overall prize—General Excellence in Digital Publishing—will presented in three divisions, for small, medium and large publications.
“We are extremely proud to present the third annual Digital Publishing Awards. The work of the creators and publishers nominated this year speaks to the astounding quality of digital journalism produced here in Canada. To celebrate these innovative, hard working individuals on a national stage and beyond is a true privilege,” said NMAF President Nino Di Cara.
Our dedicated roster of 78 judges volunteered their time, expertise, and passion for digital publishing in serv-ing on this year’s jury. They have nominated 106 entries from 37 different digital publications for this year’s awards.
Gold, Silver and Honourable Mention awards will be presented at the Digital Publishing Awards soirée on May 29th at One King West in Toronto, hosted by Adrian Lee, the opinions editor for Maclean’s. Gold winners in most categories include a $500 cash prize. Tickets are on sale at digitalpublishingawards.ca.
EMERGING EXCELLENCE AWARD
The three standout nominees for the coveted Emerging Excellence Award, which honours an individual whose early work in Canadian digital publishing shows the highest degree of craft and promise, are: Elizabeth Melito of CBC News, Graeme Bruce of the Winnipeg Free Press, and Ishani Nath of the Entertainment pillar (FLARE and Hello! Canada).
FIRST-TIME NOMINEES Numerous publications received a first nomination this year, including Flare, Fjord Review, HuffPost Québec, ICI Radio-Canada Première, Le Devoir, Motherboard, Passport 2017, Spacing, The Deep, The Kit, The Sprawl, VICE Québec, and Winnipeg Free Press.
TOP NOMINEES The top nominees this year are: The Globe and Mail, CBC, Hakai Magazine, Today’s Parent, Chatelaine, Haz-litt, TVO.org, VICE Québec, and Winnipeg Free Press.
Earning two nominations each are Air Canada enRoute, Canadian Art, Global News (globalnews.ca), L’actu-alité, Le Devoir, National Observer, Passport 2017, Sportsnet, The Deep, Toronto Life, and URBANIA.
INDIVIDUAL NOMINATION HIGHLIGHTS
For the third year in a row, Air Canada enRoute's "Best New Restaurants" guide is nominated for Best Digital Editorial Package. The magazine’s popular guide is also finalist for Best Online Video: Short.
“Unfounded” by reporters Robyn Doolittle, Laura Blenkinsop, Jeremy Agius, and Michael Pereira, pub-lished in the The Globe and Mail is nominated twice, in Best Digital Editorial Package and Best News Coverage.
CBC News’ “Dancing Towards the Light” is nominated in two categories: Best Arts & Culture Story and Best Online Video: Mini-Doc.
LEADERSHIP AWARD
The NMAF is pleased to present the 2018 Digital Publishing Leadership Award to Brodie Fenlon, Senior Direc-tor of Daily News and Bureaus for the CBC. A respected mentor and leader, Brodie’s pursuit for digital innova-tion is matched with a desire to build camaraderie in the newsroom. Described by his peers as a “transforma-tive leader” and an “incredibly positive and galvanizing force”, Brodie is lauded for his remarkable achieve-ments and generous personality. Click here to read Brodie’s full biography.
Visit live.digitalpublishingawards.ca to view the individuals nominated this year and their outstanding work.
General Excellence in Digital Publishing: Small Publication
- Fjordreview.com, Fjord Review
- Nationalobserver.com, National Observer
- Thedeepmag.ca, The Deep
General Excellence in Digital Publishing: Medium Publication
- Hakaimagazine.com, Hakai Magazine
- Passport2017.ca, Passport
- Todaysparent.com, Today’s Parent
General Excellence in Digital Publishing: Large Publication
- Theglobeandmail.com, The Globe and Mail
- Ledevoir.com, Le Devoir
- winnipegfreepress.com, Winnipeg Free Press
Best Digital Editorial Package
- Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2017, Air Canada enRoute
- Born on Opioids, Today’s Parent
- Fiction: The Story of Canada. The Globe and Mail
- Monnaie d’échange 1 à 4, Le Devoir
- This Is 40ish. Chatelaine
- Unfounded, The Globe and Mail
Best Blog or Online-Only Column Ici et ailleurs: Chronique d’Alain No?l, Options politiques John Lorinc's weekly column, Spacing John Michael McGrath, TVO.org Lauren McKeon, TVO.org
- Rachel Giese, Chatelaine 31 Thoughts, Sportsnet
- Best News Coverage (Small Newsroom)
- Kinder Morgan’s Pipeline in Canada, National Observer
- Racism and Reconciliation in Ontario’s Northwest, TVO.org
- The Sprawl: 2017 Election Edition, The Sprawl
Best News Coverage
- Assisted Dying, Winnipeg Free Press
- Fire Watch: B.C. Wildfire Coverage, Global News (globalnews.ca)
- The Border Crossers, Winnipeg Free Press
- Unfounded, The Globe and Mail
Best Feature Article: Short
- Aleppo Mayor, The Globe and Mail
- Je ne sais pas quand je vais vivre, urbania.ca
- This Is How Your Hyperpartisan Political News Gets made, BuzzFeed Canada
Best Feature Article: Long A Prison Pregnancy, The Deep
- Anatomy of a Surrogacy, Hazlitt
- Death of a Modern Wolf, Hakai
- Eight Seconds: The Life and Death of a Cowboy, The Globe and Mail
- ‘Please Take Us Back to Iraq’: A Yazidi Family’s Traumatic First Days in Canada, Chatelaine
- Sea Change, The Globe and Mail
- The Making of Joseph Boyden, The Globe and Mail
- The Renfrew County Murders Are Not an Anomaly, Chatelaine
Fiction
- Half-Pipe, Hazlitt
- Oursonette, The Globe and Mail
- The Clap, The Globe and Mail
- Young Tomorrow, The Globe and Mail
Best Personal Essay
- A Place of Absorption, Hazlitt
- Black on Bay Street, The Globe and Mail
- Kids of Addiction, Discourse Media
- ‘Mummy, am I white?’ What I’ve Learned From Raising Biracial Children, Chatelaine
- What To Do About Kevin: Demons, Little Fires, and the Man Who Lived in my Ravine, TVO.org
Best Arts & Culture Story
- A Road Trip with Christopher Pratt, Canadian Art
- Dancing Towards the Light, CBC News
- Kent Monkman: The Modern Touch of an Old Master, The Globe and Mail
- My Mother Gave Me My IMFA, Canadian Art
- The Making of Joseph Boyden, The Globe and Mail
- TIFF’s Next Act, The Globe and Mail
- Truth in Jest?, Hazlitt
Best Science and Technology Story
- From Vilified to Vindicated: the Story of Jacques Cinq-Mars, Hakai Magazine
- How Coders Hacked Back to ‘Rescue’ $208 Million in Ethereum, Motherboard
- The Hunger Games: Two Killer Whales, Same Sea, Different Diets, Hakai Magazine
- Understanding the Quantum Computing Revolution, The Globe and Mail
- Watts in the Water, Hakai Magazine
Best Service Feature: Lifestyle
- ?a veut dire quoi être genderqueer?, VICE Québec Le Montréal oublié, HuffPost Québec Where to Eat Now, Toronto Life
- Best Service Feature: Family & Health
- Fortunate Son, The Globe and Mail
- How Do I Talk to My Five-Year-Old About White Supremacy?, The Walrus
- SIDS Deaths Are Now Considered “Undetermined”: What Parents Need to Know, Today’s Parent
Best Online Video: Short
- Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2017 - Battuto, Air Canada enRoute
- Drag Queen Story Time, Today’s Parent
- How close are we to the end of the world? Check the Doomsday Clock, The Globe and Mail
- How clothing helped andro babe Megan come out, Daily Xtra
- In the studio with Kent Monkman, Canadian Art
- Meat Cottage, Chatelaine
- The Kit Voices: Generation Z, The Kit
Best Online Video: Feature
- A Wall Worth Building: Making Clam Habitat Great Again, Hakai Magazine
- Au championnat d'arts martiaux mixtes avec une combattante sans merci, VICE Québec
- Avec le shaman qui traite ses patients à la MDMA, VICE Québec
- Cette drag-queen de 8 ans fait fureur à Montréal, VICE Québec
- Daniel Mazzone: The Blue Jays Artist, Sportsnet Here Be Tiny Dragons (and Other Micro Beasts), Hakai Magazine
- The Ultimate Gift: How Two Dads Finally Got Their Son, Today’s Parent
Best Online Video: Mini-Doc
- Age of Consent, VICE
- Born on Opioids, Today’s Parent
- Dancing Towards the Light, CBC News
Best Podcast & Audio Storytelling
- Disparue(s), ICI Radio-Canada Première
- GROSSES TêTES, URBANIA
- Love Me - The Other Side, CBC Original Podcasts
- Someone Knows Something - Dee & Moore, CBC Original Podcasts
- The Secret Life of Canada, Passport 2017
Best Digital Design
- Census 2016, CBC News
- The Globe and Mail, The Globe and Mail
- Un Canada sans immigrant, L’actualité
Best Photo Storytelling
- Asylum seekers, The Globe and Mail
- Canada Through The Lens of Syrian Refugees, The Globe and Mail
- Des colis pour le Venezuela, L’actualité
- From Janet With Love, National Film Board of Canada
- Single Mothers of Afghanistan, The Globe and Mail
Best Social Storytelling
- Canada's #ToxicSecret, Global News (globalnews.ca)
- Coming to Canada: The Immigration and Refugee System, CBC News
- #WhyICameOut for Pride Toronto, FLARE.com
Best Digital Initiative
- A City Destroyed: Experience the Halifax Explosion, CBC News
- SJM Variants, Toronto Life
- Weigh Anchor, The Globe and Mail
If you would like to make any credit changes, please send details to [email protected] before May 3, 2018.
DIGITAL PUBLISHING AWARDS SOIRéE
Gold, Silver, and Honourable Mention awards will be presented at the Digital Publishing Awards soirée on Tuesday, May 29th, 2018 at One King West in Toronto. Gold winners in most categories include a $500 cash prize. Tickets are on sale at digitalpublishingawards.ca. Follow the Digital Publishing Awards on Twitter @DPAwards and #DPA18.
The Digital Publishing Awards Soirée will be hosted by Adrian Lee. Adrian is the opinions editor for Maclean's, a Polaris Prize jury member, a Digital Publishing Award winner, and karaoke champion, in order of least to most important facts about him. He is thrilled for the opportunity to attend a gala that allows him to wear a tuxedo, which he purchased in what he describes as "a good idea at the time."
Digital Publishing Awards Soirée Tuesday, May 29th, 2018 Doors open at 6pm, show starts at 7pm. One King West Hotel 1 King Street West, Toronto, ON Tickets on sale at digitalpublishingawards.ca
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The National Media Awards Foundation gratefully acknowledges the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage's Canadian Periodical Fund, the Ontario Arts Council and the Ontario Media Development Corpora-tion.
The NMAF thanks its partners and generous sponsors : Cision, DDI Canada, Reader’s Digest Founda-tion and Very Good Studios. The National Media Awards Foundation offers its sincere thanks to the highly skilled professionals who gener-ously contributed their time and expertise as judges of this year's Digital Publishing Awards competition.
ABOUT THE DIGITAL PUBLISHING AWARDS Produced by the National Media Awards Foundation, the Digital Publishing Awards promote and reward the achievements of those who create digital publishing content in Canada—the writers and editors, designers and developers, video and podcast producers, photographers and illustrators, and many others. The DPA program recognizes, celebrates and promotes to a national audience the innovative publishing teams that produce digi-tal content in Canadian media. ABOUT THE
NATIONAL MEDIA AWARDS FOUNDATION A charitable foundation, the NMAF’s mandate is to recognize, support and promote excellence in content crea-tion of Canadian print and digital publications through an annual program of awards and national publicity ef-forts. The Foundation produces two distinct and bilingual award programs: the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. For further information about the Digital Publishing Awards, please contact Leah Edwards, Digital Communica-tions Coordinator, at [email protected].