Ponoka News will be adding some accolades to its wall of awards after the completion of the 2020 presentations of the 2019 Alberta Weekly Newspaper Association (AWNA) awards.
The awards were presented virtually, over a three-week period.
On June 10, the Better Newspaper Competition awards were presented. These are the overall awards that are based on two complete issues from 2019. They are judged independently and scored on a number of criteria.
Ponoka News is pleased to announce it won second place for Best Front Page and third place for Best Overall in its circulation category.
The writing awards were presented on June 19, and while Ponoka News did not win an award this year in this very competitive section of the awards, it is pleased to congratulate fellow Black Press papers the Rimbey Review and the Lacombe Express on their awards.
On June 25, the photo awards were presented. Ponoka News took first place in the Spot News category, for a photo by Emily Jaycox. This is the second year in a row Ponoka News has won the top spot in this category.
The Bashaw Star, which Ponoka News publishes, also garnered a few awards in the BNC: second place for Best Sports Page, first place for Best Editorial Page and third place for Best Overall.
Ponoka News congratulates all the winners and all community newspapers working diligently to serve their communities through this uncertain time. Community journalism matters — now more than ever.