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UPDATED: Langford-based Gazette receives national recognition

West Shore newspaper staff among category finalists
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In this photo that ran last December in the Gazette , Santa visits with two-year-old Angelo Karavidas in the pediatric intensive care unit at Victoria General Hospital. The picture earned one of several 2017 Canadian Community Newspaper Award winners for the Gazette . Katherine Engqvist/News Gazette staff

Your Goldstream News Gazette has been recognized for quality work by News Media Canada in the 2017 Canadian Community Newspaper Awards and Great Idea Awards programs.

The Gazette was judged as one of the top six publications of its kind in the country, receiving a CCNA Blue Ribbon in the Best All-Round Newspaper category, for publications with a circulation of 12,500 and above.

The Gazette also earned top marks in the national Great Ideas Awards competition for Best Special Section (4,000 to 24,999 circ.) for “Salute to the Saunders Family.”

Two of the Gazette’s multi-talented journalists earned third-place marks in photographic categories in the CCNAs.

Reporter Joel Tansey’s shot of a man embroiled in a police standoff that shut down Veterans Memorial Parkway for hours, which ran with a story on the incident, placed in the Best Spot News Photo (12,500 circ. and above). The image is also a Spot News Photo finalist in the B.C.-Yukon Community Newspaper Association’s Ma Murray Awards, the winners of which will be announced this Saturday in Richmond.

Reporter Katherine Engqvist’s poignant shot of Santa Claus leaning over a sick child’s bed at Victoria General Hospital placed for Best Feature Photo (12,500 circ. and above).

The Gazette also earned a third-place award in the national editorial category (10,000 circ. and above) for “Trudeau's job now gets tougher,” written after Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S.

“These awards are a reflection of the work we’re doing to showcase the communities we work and live in,” said Gazette editor Don Descoteau. “We cover numerous stories and events through the year, and it’s nice to be recognized by our peers for a job well done.”

Added publisher Christine Scott: “I’m very proud of the incredibly great work our team at the Gazette does in bringing the best of community news to our readers.”

Black Press sister papers in Greater Victoria also posted top placings for the CCNA awards.

In the Best Historical Story category, the Peninsula News Review came first among papers with 12,500 circulation and above while the Oak Bay News was third (4,000 to 12,499 circ.).

The Sooke News Mirror placed second for Best News Feature Photo and third in Best Sports Photo (4,000 to 12,499 circ.), while the Victoria News finished second in the Best Multimedia Feature category for its coverage of the 2016 Royal Visit.

In the Great Ideas competition, Oak Bay News also placed third in Best Advertising-Print, Best Special Section and Best Magazine for Tweed (4,000 to 24,999 circ.).

editor@goldstreamgazette.com