Globe and Mail, Toronto Star top list of nominees for 2011 NNAs

TORONTO – The list of nominees for the 2011 National Newspaper Awards, to be handed out April 27 in Toronto:

– Multimedia Feature: The Halifax Chronicle-Herald for a multimedia study of racism in Nova Scotia; The Globe and Mail for an examination of the Palestinian militant group Hamas; the Toronto Star for a revelation of the ongoing despair and famine in Somalia.

– News Feature Photography: John Lehmann, The Globe and Mail, for a photo of a 13-person canoe about to leave on an expedition visiting remote native villages between Tofino and Port Alberni; Tara Walton, Toronto Star, for a photo of an elderly Alzheimer’s patient who had been sexually assaulted; Chris Wattie, Reuters, for a photo of Jack Layton’s casket in the foreground of a sea of faces.

– Beat Reporting: Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press, for his public security beat; Susan Pigg, Toronto Star, for stories on aging. Mary Agnes Welch, Winnipeg Free Press, for her public policy beat.

– Explanatory Work: Carolyn Abraham of The Globe and Mail on the facts and mythology of sperm count research; Grant Robertson of The Globe and Mail for the story behind Canada’s currency overhaul; Mary Ormsby of the Toronto Star on the mechanics and spiritual dimensions of figure skating.

– Politics: Don Butler of the Ottawa Citizen for stories of how Canada grants asylum to refugees; Daniel Leblanc of The Globe and Mail for coverage of corruption and political collusion in the Quebec construction industry; Sheila Pratt of the Edmonton Journal for an investigation of the climate of fear and intimidation in Alberta’s public life.

– Short Features: Daniel Dale, Toronto Star, for a story of guilt associated with seeing a toonie that someone had dropped on a subway car floor; Kate Hammer of The Globe and Mail for story of a kindergarten class in a B.C. seniors’ home; Mike Strobel, Toronto Sun, for story of disabled youth at a swimming meet.

– Local Reporting: Shawn Jeffords of the Sarnia Observer for stories of prescription pill abuse in the community; Sara Ross, Nathan Taylor and Teviah Moro of the Orillia Packet and Times for coverage of cronyism and lack of transparency in the hiring of a city manager; Paul Schliesmann of the Kingston Whig-Standard for an examination of recycling practices in the region; Mike Whitehouse of the Sudbury Star for stories of a sex scandal and the squandering of taxpayers’ money.

– Presentation: The team of Catherine Farley, Brian Hughes, Noor Javed, Joe Rubin, Nuri Ducassi, Toronto Star; Rachel Hotte, Jacques-Olivier Bras, La Presse, Montréal; Jocelyn Potelle, La Presse, Montréal

– Special Project: The Gazette of Montreal for a series on Quebec’s cult of government and institutional secrecy; National Post for a project on Canada’s decade-long war in Afghanistan; The Province of Vancouver for project on elder abuse; Waterloo Region Record for a multi-faceted study of public transportation in the region.

– Sports Photography: Mark Blinch, Reuters, for a photo of a U.S. hurdles runner falling during the handoff of the baton; Benoît Gariépy of Le Journal de Québec for a photo of a disconsolate hockey player at the famed Quebec Peewee Tournament; Derek Ruttan of the London Free Press for a hurdles runner outdistancing his opponents at a high school meet.

– Business: Sheldon Alberts of Postmedia News for stories of the Keystone XL Pipeline controversy; Chuck Howitt of the Waterloo Region Record on the demutualization of an insurance company; Andy Hoffman and Mark MacKinnon of The Globe and Mail for a series on Sino-Forest Corp.; and Barrie McKenna, The Globe and Mail, for an examination of the federal government’s research and development tax program.

– Columns: Susan Clairmont, Hamilton Spectator; Barrie McKenna, The Globe and Mail; Eric Reguly, The Globe and Mail.

– Investigations: Daniel Leblanc of The Globe and Mail for corruption at the Canada Revenue Agency offices in Montreal; Mike de Souza of Postmedia News for an investigation into partisan research carried out at a university to lobby against the Kyoto Protocol and peer-reviewed science on climate change; Moira Welsh and Jesse McLean of the Toronto Star for an investigation into abuse in Ontario’s nursing homes.

– Arts and Entertainment: Stephanie Nolen, The Globe and Mail, for features on Deepa Mehta and her challenges of making a movie of Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children; Nick Patch, The Canadian Press, for features that included the 60th anniversary of the first rock and roll song; Johanna Schneller, The Globe and Mail, for articles that included the new types of roles women are portraying in film.

– Sports: Josh Brown, Waterloo Region Record, for a feature on a former football player who had hit rock bottom; Ken Dryden, The Globe and Mail, for an essay on head injuries and concussions; Grant Robertson, The Globe and Mail, for a feature on a 13-year-old Formula One driving prodigy from Montreal; Randy Turner, Winnipeg Free Press, for a feature about the ultimately doomed hope of hockey player Rick Rypien to join the reborn Winnipeg Jets.

– Feature Photography: Ivanoh Demers, La Presse in Montreal, for a photo of Jack Layton backstage during an election stop in Quebec; Rafal Gerszak of The Globe and Mail for a photo of a former soldier diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); Mathew McCarthy of the Waterloo Region Record for photo of a woman with an umbrella seen through rain droplets on a car window.

– International Reporting: Stephanie Nolen of The Globe and Mail for a portrait of young girls attending a ground-breaking school run by a quietly radical nun; Graeme Smith, The Globe and Mail, for coverage of the conflict in Libya; Jennifer Wells of the Toronto Star for her profile of modern-day serfs who mine for gold at the top of the world.

– Editorials: André Pratte of La Presse in Montreal; John Roe of the Waterloo Region Record; Russell Wangersky, St. John’s (NL) Telegram.

– Editorial Cartooning: Marc Beaudet, Le Journal de Montréal; Brian Gable,The Globe and Mail; Bruce MacKinnon, Halifax Chronicle Herald.

– Long Features: Erin Anderssen of The Globe and Mail for a feature on being a mother in the 21st century; Ian Brown, The Globe and Mail, for an exploration of the ethical controversy sparked by new developments in pre natal testing; Patrick White of The Globe and Mail for an anniversary piece on the founding of Nunavut.

– News Photography: Joe Bryksa of the Winnipeg Free Press for a photo of a police takedown; Rich Lam of Getty Images for a photo of a couple kissing during the Vancouver Stanley Cup riots; Steve Russell of the Toronto Star of a photo of Jack Layton just after the election results were known.

– Breaking News: Edmonton Journal team for coverage of the Slave Lake fires; The Globe and Mail team for stories of a murder-suicide in Alberta; London Free Press team for stories of a tornado in nearby Goderich; Mark MacKinnon of The Globe and Mail for coverage of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version had an incorrect spelling for Catherine Farley’s last name.