The North Island Gazette won big at the Ma Murray Newspaper Awards April 28 in Richmond, with Editor Tyson Whitney bringing home silver for Spot News Photo and the entire Gazette staff taking bronze for Newspaper Excellence (Newspaper Excellence Category B 1,601-3,500).
“The Ma Murrays are a huge deal, they recognize the achievements of 100+ member newspapers in British Columbia and the Yukon,” said Whitney, adding that the awards have been around for almost a century, “and now I can proudly say I’ve been a finalist for two due to hard work and perseverance.”
Whitney started off as a sports reporter for the North Island Gazette in November of 2015, before branching out and covering all aspects of journalism.
He was promoted to acting editor near the end of December in 2016 and worked the majority of the 2017 year as the acting editor, before being promoted to permanent editor back in January.
This was his first year being nominated for Ma Murray Newspaper Award.
“I’ve worked really hard to better myself as a person and my craft, and I think this is only the beginning of what we can accomplish as a team,” said Whitney, who added reporter Hanna Petersen has played a huge role in the editorial department since starting in June 2017. “Watch out for Hanna, she’s extremely talented and is well on her way to becoming very well known in the journalism industry.”
– Gazette staff
