Anglican media, including the Anglican Journal, MinistryMatters magazine and the General Synod Web site won a total of 22 awards in two competitions.
In Indianapolis on April 29, the Associated Church Press, an international association of religious media, recognized the Journal as the best newspaper in its class.
In addition to the award of excellence for best in class in which it competed with 11 other publications, the newspaper won seven awards in the North American-wide press organization.
ACP also recognized two other Anglican Church of Canada media. The General Synod Web site, anglican.ca, won four awards for its news content – including an award of excellence for news – and MinistryMatters, a magazine aimed at clergy and lay ministry leaders, won three awards.
In a separate Canadian competition, the results of which were announced a few days later, the Journal took six additional awards, and MinistryMatters one.
The Canadian Church Press gave the Journal three first prizes – for an opinion piece, for narrative non-fiction and for layout and design of an entire edition. MinistryMatters won a first prize for poetry. The newspaper also won honourable mentions for original artwork, treatment of a news event and front page. The CCP awards were announced on May 2 in Waterloo, Ont., at the organization’s annual convention.
The ACP judges’ comments about the Journal for its ‘best in class’ award noted, “Featuring stories from across the globe in a balanced mix, the Anglican Journal delivers extremely well-written and well-reported stories on a fascinating variety of issues. Good layout and design support superb content.” The awards are for the 2002 publishing year, when the newspaper was edited by Vianney (Sam) Carriere. Mr. Carriere is now acting director of communications and information resources with General Synod.
Jane Davidson, a staff writer with the Journal, won an award of excellence for best feature article in a newspaper, for “Let the little children come to me,” a story about children in the church. The October, 2002, feature competed in a category with 20 entries.
Saskia Rowley, art director of the Journal and MinistryMatters, won an award of merit in the category of newspaper or newsletter design for an entire issue for the January, 2002, issue.
The Journal also won five honourable mentions:
- Solange De Santis, staff writer, in the category of news story (newspaper), for “Cabinet OKs church offer”, (December 2002);
- Canon Gordon Baker, book review editor, in the category of media review section, for Fine Print, his book review column (September, October 2002);
- Ms. De Santis, in the critical review category, for “Bible stories endless source of drama and (unintended) comedy”, (April 2002);
- Mr. Carriere and Jane Davidson, in the category of letters to the editor;
- Ms. Rowley, in the category of newspaper or newsletter front page, December.
Meanwhile, Leanne Larmondin, former Web site manager of the anglican.ca Web site and now acting editor of the Anglican Journal, won an award of excellence for “Dispute gives rise to licensing, property questions,” a news story about a battle in the diocese of New Westminster. Ms. Larmondin also won an award of merit in the category of in-depth coverage (newspaper, newsletter, news service or Web site) for her treatment of the story of the approval of same-sex blessings in New Westminster.
Ms. Larmondin and Keith Nunn, another former Web site manager, shared an honourable mention for their Web site section on Ms. Larmondin’s 2002 trip to Africa.
A feature about the modern-day Sunday school ‘vanners’ in the diocese of Calgary, entitled “Vanners still rolling in rural Alberta”, also netted Ms. Larmondin an honourable mention in the category of feature article in a newsletter, news service or Web site.
Finally, MinistryMatters won an award of excellence in the category of devotional or inspirational writing for Rev. Michael Thompson’s Winter 2002, article “Life in the soup”, an award of merit for Saskia Rowley’s design of the Winter 2002, issue and another award of merit in the category of feature article (special interest magazine) for Rev. Brian Pearson’s article entitled “When hate came calling.”
Founded in 1916, ACP comprises nearly 200 publications, Web sites and news services.
The Canadian Church Press first prize awards went to Archbishop Michael Peers, the Canadian Anglican primate, for a letter to Anglicans following the announcement of the residential schools agreement with the federal government; Mr. Carriere for an obituary of Canon John Rye, former mission co-ordinator for Africa and the Middle East, and to Ms. Rowley for design. Huntsville, Ont., writer Mel Malton won first prize for a poem entitled Beyond the Door published in MinistryMatters.
Honourable mentions went to artist Anna Payne-Krzyzanowski for a work entitled Easter in Art, to Journal writers Ms. Larmondin, Ms. Davidson and Ms. De Santis for coverage of the same-sex blessing issue in New Westminster, and Ms. Rowley for the design of a front page.
