National Newspaper Awards add Photo Story category to 2023 competition

Appoint Jeff Smith as Director of Sponsorships

TORONTO, Oct. 18, 2023 /CNW/ - The National Newspaper Awards will include a new category for photographers in 2023: Photo Story.

The award was approved by the Board of Governors at a meeting on Sept. 28.

The new award will recognize a multiple-picture story or visual essay showcasing exceptional photography on a single subject or theme. Photographers may enter up to 10 photos published on a single day or throughout the calendar year.

It is one of four photo categories in the 2023 competition. The Feature Photo and Sports Photo categories remain unchanged from 2022, while the Breaking News Photo and General News Photo categories have been combined into a single News Photo category.

The Board of Governors also updated eligibility rules to open the contest to more journalists. Modifications include:

• Photo-journalists who work regularly in Canada and who provide work to an ineligible news agency on a freelance or contract basis are now eligible to enter the contest, provided their work was distributed to and published by an eligible news organization.
  
  
• Smaller Canadian non-daily newspapers that typically publish at least five days a week online — but may not always meet that threshold — are now eligible for the competition.

For the second year, the NNAs will welcome submissions in one category from Canadian journalists or organizations who would otherwise be ineligible for the competition. The Special Recognition Citation is designed to recognize exceptional journalism that does not fit into any of the existing categories. All types of journalism will be considered for the citation, including text, video, audio, photos, graphics, newsletters and social media. All types of news organizations are eligible. The citation is meant to open the door to experimentation in journalism: transcending categories, newsrooms and the industry.

Last year's Citation winner, Room Up Front, is a volunteer-run mentorship program seeking to combat inequality in the Canadian photo-journalism community.

The Special Topic Award, also created in 2022, will be offered again this year. The topic will be announced Dec. 1.

In keeping with longstanding practice, any changes approved by NNA Governors are in effect for the 2023 competition, which covers work published between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2023.

The cost to enter this year's competition, which opens on Dec. 1, will stay at $30 per submission. Award winners will be named at an in-person gala on April 26 in Toronto. Tickets will be available for purchase.

The Board of Governors was also pleased to welcome a Director of Sponsorships and a new board member at its September meeting.

Jeff Smith has joined the organization as Director of Sponsorships and will be responsible for securing sponsors for the contest and gala. Based in Toronto, he is a digital marketing and media executive with more than 20 years of experience with some of Canada's top brands, including Hudson's Bay Company and TD Bank. He oversaw Torstar's daily commuter publication, Metro News, and has worked with Narrowcontent, the Ontario Community Newspaper Association and WWF-Canada.

Darren Calabrese, a documentary and editorial photojournalist based in Halifax, has joined the board after previously working with the NNAs at the committee level. Calabrese's work has been recognized by World Press Photo, Pictures of the Year International, News Photographers Association of Canada and more.

Sponsorship opportunities remain available for the gala and for named awards. For information on either opportunity, contact Jeff Smith at [email protected].

This is the 75th year for the awards program, and the 35th under the current administrative structure. The awards were established by the Toronto Press Club in 1949 to encourage excellence and reward achievement in daily newspaper work in Canada. The competition is now open to newspapers, news agencies and online news sites approved for entry by the NNA Board of Governors.

For more information, contact:

Bev Wake
Executive Director
National Newspaper Awards
[email protected]
604-220-7254

Andria Samis
Program Director
National Newspaper Awards
[email protected]
416-738-3654

SOURCE National Newspaper Awards