The winners of the Ontario Community Newspaper Association’s (OCNA) 2011 annual awards were announced on May 14th at the OCNA Spring Convention in Niagara Falls. Loyalist students and the College received top honours in all College and University categories – which recognizes the outstanding work of Journalism students in photography, news writing and feature writing. Meagan Leonard, a Print Journalism graduate received first place in Student Feature Writing. Steve Pettibone, also a Print Journalism graduate, placed third. The Student News Writing second-place award went to Photojournalism graduate Melissa Tait. Loyalist Photojournalism graduates, Adam Gagnon and Bryanna Bradley were recognized in the Student Photography category with Adam placing first and Bryanna third. QNET News, the College’s online news source, was the recipient of the Best College/University Newspaper Website category.
“I am not only happy, I am very honoured to receive this award,” said Adam Gagnon. “I credit Loyalist with helping me develop my attention to detail and moving me forward. The faculty always challenged us, encouraging us to work really hard – and that we did. I’m really pleased for everyone from Loyalist who was recognized.” Adam is working as a freelance photographer in the Kitchener-Waterloo area.
Bryanna Bradley was elated to be recognized by the OCNA. “I am thrilled to receive the award. It is a real confirmation of the things I learned and accomplished while I was at Loyalist.” Bryanna is continuing her post-secondary studies at Carleton University.
Dean of Media Studies, Jane Harrison, congratulated the recipients. “I am delighted that Loyalist did so well at the OCNA awards this year. It is particularly exciting to win for the web site as well as our traditional strengths of reporting and photojournalism. Loyalist students consistently perform well against much larger colleges and universities. I am proud of these achievements.”
“The results of the OCNA Awards are definitely cause for celebration, for both the students’ exceptional work, and for the faculty’s commitment to ensuring the programs are relevant and in step with the rapidly evolving field of journalism,” said Loyalist President Maureen Piercy. “Technology leaps have brought us blogs, emails, online comments, Facebook, Twitter and many other forums. Journalism has become immediate and extremely interactive. Loyalist’s online QNET News is a perfect example of a comprehensive community news source, and its first-place recognition at the awards reinforces that Loyalist students are learning the skills to lead and succeed in these exciting new directions.”
For information about Loyalist’s School of Media Studies programs call (613) 969-1913, ext. 2204 or click here.
Media Contact: Edina Cappuccitti, College Advancement & External Relations, Loyalist College, (613) 969-1913, ext. 2392; ecappuccitti@loyalistc.on.ca or Jane Harrison, Dean of Media Studies, (613) 969-1913, ext. 2437