The Grid and National Post win as best-designed newspapers in the world

The Grid, Torstar's free weekly magazine (it calls itself that), has won the prestigious Society for News Design's top prize as best-designed newspaper for its circulation category. And Canada has done superlatively well given that another of the five winning papers was the National Post. 

The judges* for the 33rd annual SPD awards said:

The Grid has the feel of an underground paper minus most of the political coverage, but there are engaging story forms on every page that make its readers laugh or shake their head. The Grid’s journalists know their audience and they reach it brilliantly.

Read more of the judges' comments here.

Of the National Post, they said

 The National Post revels in its narrow page width and tells stories visually as well as any newspaper in the world.

Of the best newspapers, they said they all share

a certainty about who their audiences are and a bold, sure-footed approach to reaching them. All have a unique voice. All are superb. All share a commitment to print that other newspapers should emulate. They never waste a page, never waste their readers’ time. These newspapers look healthy, well-staffed and richly resourced — even if they are not. It was inspiring to see international journalists who still believe in excellence in print.

*Bill Gaspard, China Daily, Beijing
Scott Goldman, The Indianapolis Star and IndyStar.com
Rhonda Prast, Missouri School of Journalism
Søren Nyeland, Politiken, Copenhagen, Denmark
Bob Unger, The Standard-Times, New Bedford, Mass.