The Deep, Hakai and The Globe win general excellence in 2018 Digital Publishing Awards

The awards for general excellence in digital publishing at the Digital Publishing Awards have been made to The Deep (small circulation), Hakai Magazine (medium) and The Globe and Mail (large). The awards were presented Tuesday night by the National Media Awards Foundation, which also presents the National Magazine Awards (this Friday).

A total of 79 Canadian digital publications participated in the DPAs, in 23 awards categories. 78 individuals served as judges for this year's awards. They nominated 106 entries from 37 different digital publications. 

Of The Deep, the judges said:

"They’re doing remarkable work with a very small staff, using their resources intelligently so that each story has the greatest impact. Their mandate—to tell in depth stories based on the East Coast—feels not only necessary, especially with the erosion of local news, but like one that they are well-positioned to carry out, considering their balance of a considered design with engaging stories,” remarked the digital publishing awards jury. “As traditional publishers grapple with diminished capacity, it will take efforts like those of The Deep, to ensure deeper, longer stories are still told and more importantly, heard!”

Of Hakai, the judges remarks were:

“Hakai is the realization of what a great digital magazine can be. With beautiful imagery, clean design, crisp writing, and well-integrated digital features, Hakai sets the standard for a high-quality digital publication,” said the Digital Publishing Awards jury. “Everything about the site is in support of its content and the reader, as it should be.” Hakai Magazine received six other awards in various categories, including a second gold in Best Online Video - Feature. 

Of The Globe and Mail, it was said:

“The Globe and Mail team produced an extremely innovative body of work. Their editorial mandate was not only fulfilled, it was surpassed and truly represented the highest of journalistic standards.”  The Globe won gold for best digital design.

Elizabeth Melito of CBC News was recognized as this year’s recipient of the Emerging Excellence Award. The award honours an individual whose early work in Canadian digital publishing shows the highest degree of craft and promise. The jury said they were 

“exceptionally impressed by Elizabeth's clear demonstration of leadership and initiative in a large and respected organization like CBC News. She joined CBC News, her first media job, in 2015. In a short time she has earned a high level of respect and responsibility and has developed two custom long-form development tools that have been rolled out nationally at CBC.”

Brodie Fenlon, the Senior Director of Daily News and Bureaus for the CBC, was the recipient of the 2018 Digital Publishing Leadership Award. The award honours an individual whose career contributions to Canadian digital publishing deserve recognition and celebration.

Highlights of other winners:

• Gold winning publications: HuffPost Québec, ICI Radio-Canada Première, The Deep and The Sprawl all captured their first Digital Publishing Awards this year. 
• The leading publication in this year's Digital Publishing Awards is The Globe and Mail. The “Unfounded” investigation—led by Dennis Choquett, Robyn Doolittle, Laura Blenkinsop, Jeremy Agius, and Michael Pereira—won Gold in both Best Digital Editorial Package and Best News Coverage.
• Hakai Magazine was also a top-winning publication, receiving two Gold medals, two Silver medals, and three Honourable Mentions. Jude Isabella, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, contributed to three of those winning pieces. 
• “Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2017,” published in Air Canada enRoute, won two silver medals, in the categories of Best Online Video: Short and Best Digital Editorial Package. 
• Global News (globalnews.ca) was a two-time winner: “Canada’s #ToxicSecret” was the Gold winner in the Best Social Storytelling category, while “Fire Watch: B.C. Wildfire Coverage” was the Silver winner in the Best News Coverage category. 
• In addition, Gold winning publications include Canadian Art, CBC News, Global News (globalnews.ca), Hakai Magazine, HuffPost Quebec, ICI Radio-Canada Première, The Globe and Mail, The Sprawl, The Walrus, and TVO.org. 
• Taking home Silver medals are Air Canada enRoute, BuzzFeed Canada, CBC News, CBC Original Podcasts, Discourse Media, Global News (globalnews.ca), Hakai Magazine, Hazlitt, National Observer, Options politiques, The Globe and Mail, Today’s Parent, Toronto Life, and VICE. 

To view the winners in all 23 categories live.digitalpublishingawards.ca. Follow the Digital Publishing Awards on Twitter @DPAwards and #DPA18. [Also, a complete list of the results are after the break below]


2018 DIGITAL PUBLISHING AWARDS RESULTS 

• Emerging Excellence Award Elizabeth Melito, CBC News 
• Digital Publishing Leadership Award Brodie Fenlon, CBC News
• General Excellence in Digital Publishing: 
• Small The Deep 
• Medium Hakai Magazine 
• Large The Globe and Mail 
• Best digital editorial package 
• GOLD: Unfounded, The Globe and Mail 
• SILVER: Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2017, Air Canada enRoute 
• Best Blog or Online-Only Column 
• GOLD: Lauren McKeon, TVO.org 
• SILVER: Ici et ailleurs: Chronique d’Alain Noël, Options politiques 
• Best News Coverage: Small Newsroom 
• GOLD : The Sprawl: 2017 Election Edition, 
• SILVER: Kinder Morgan’s Pipeline in Canada, National Observer 
• Best News Coverage 
• GOLD: Unfounded, The Globe and Mail 
• SILVER: Fire Watch: B.C. Wildfire Coverage, Global News (globalnews.ca) 
• Best Feature Article: Short 
• GOLD: Aleppo Mayor, written by Cathal Kelly and published in The Globe and Mail
• SILVER: This Is How Your Hyperpartisan Political News Gets made, written by Craig Silverman and published in BuzzFeed Canada 
• Best Feature Article: Long 
• GOLD: The Making of Joseph Boyden, written by Eric Andrew-Gee and published in The Globe and Mail 
• SILVER: Death of a Modern Wolf, written by J.B. MacKinnon and published in Hakai Magazine 
• Fiction 
• GOLD: Young Tomorrow, written by Sean Michaels and published in The Globe and Mail 
• SILVER: Half-Pipe, written by Zoe Whittall and published in Hazlitt 
• Best Personal Essay 
• GOLD: Black on Bay Street, written by Hadiya Roderique and published in The Globe and Mail 
• SILVER: Kids of addiction, written by Trevor Jang and published in Discourse Media 
• Best Arts & Culture Story 
• GOLD: A Road Trip with Christopher Pratt, written by Mireille Egan and published in Canadian Art 
• SILVER: Kent Monkman: The modern touch of an old master, written by Dakshana Bascaramurty and published in The Globe and Mail 
• Best Science and Technology Story 
• GOLD: Understanding the quantum computing revolution, written by Ivan Semeniuk and published in The Globe and Mail 
• SILVER: Watts in the Water, written by Bruce Grierson and published in Hakai Magazine 
• Best Service Feature: Lifestyle 
• GOLD: Le Montréal oublié, written by Daphnée Hacker-B. and published in HuffPost Québec 
• SILVER: Where to Eat Now, written by Mark Pupo and published in Toronto Life 
• Best Service Feature: Family & Health 
• GOLD: How do I talk to my five-year-old about white supremacy?, written by Kalli Anderson and published in The Walrus 
• SILVER: Fortunate Son, written by Erin Anderssen and published in The Globe and Mail 
• Best Online Video: Short 
• GOLD: How close are we to the end of the world? Check the Doomsday Clock, The Globe and Mail 
• SILVER: Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2017 - Battuto, Air Canada enRoute 
• Best Online Video: Feature 
• GOLD: Here Be Tiny Dragons (and Other Micro Beasts), Hakai Magazine 
• SILVER: The ultimate gift: How two dads finally got their son, Today’s Parent 
• Best Online Video: Mini-Doc 
• GOLD: Dancing Towards the Light, CBC News 
• SILVER, Age of Consent, VICE 
• Best Podcast & Audio Storytelling 
• GOLD: Disparue(s), ICI Radio-Canada Première 
• SILVER: Someone Knows Something - Dee & Moore, CBC Original Podcasts 
• Best Digital Design 
• GOLD: Census 2016, CBC News 
• SILVER: The Globe and Mail, The Globe and Mail 
• Best Photo Storytelling 
• GOLD: Canada through the lens of Syrian refugees, The Globe and Mail 
• SILVER: Single Mothers of Afghanistan, The Globe and Mail 
• Best Social Storytelling 
• GOLD: Canada's #ToxicSecret, Global News (globalnews.ca) 
• SILVER: Coming to Canada: The Immigration and Refugee System, CBC News 
• Best Digital Initiative 
• GOLD: A City Destroyed: Experience the Halifax Explosion, CBC News 
• SILVER: Weigh Anchor, The Globe and Mail