WCR named Canada's top regional Church newspaper

By WCR Staff
Guelph, Ont.

The WCR won the award for general excellence for regional newspapers from the Canadian Church Press at the CCP's annual convention near Guelph.

It's the fourth time in five years the paper has either won the award or received an honourable mention.

This year the judges described the WCR as "a top-notch regional publication that rivals some of its national competitors in sheer quality."

They paid tribute to the paper's "high photographic standard," "crisp, clear writing with short sentences," "wide and richly varied" news content, and "provocative editorials, provocative columns by Hank Zyp."

They also said the WCR makes "good attempts to pass on current teachings by Pope John Paul and Canada's bishops."

The WCR also won the award for the best front page among all Church newspapers for its Dec. 7 front page depicting Calgary Bishop Fred Henry speaking to the annual convention of the Alberta Catholic School Trustees' Association.

The story and photo by reporter Ramon Gonzalez was headlined "'No' to fundraising: Henry delivers tongue lashing to trustees."

The Calgary bishop also figured in another award. Henry won an honourable mention in the opinion writing category for his Oct. 5 article, "Drawing the line on VLTs."

The WCR also received an honourable mention in the feature layout and design category for the layout of freelance writer Patience Akpan's Oct. 19 article on homeschooling in Alberta.

The Catholic Register of Toronto received the CCP's award as Canada's best national Church newspaper.

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