Announcing the Finalists of the 6th Annual Digital Publishing Awards

Press Release

TORONTO, May 12, 2021  – The National Media Awards Foundation congratulates the 165 finalists of the 6th annual Digital Publishing Awards. 163 publications across Canada participated in the 2020 competition, and entries were evaluated by over 70 dedicated volunteer judges.

The Foundation will host a virtual celebration on June 11th at 4 PM ET, live-streaming the winners reveal on Facebook and on our website. Gold winners in creator-focused categories receive a $500 prize, in addition to their award.

Top Nominees

• The Globe and Mail is a finalist in 17 various categories, ranging from Best Personal Essay to Innovation in Digital Storytelling.
• CBC News received an impressive total of eight nominations across various categories.
• CBC Podcasts dominated Best Podcast: News & Politics, picking up four nominations in that category and a fifth nomination for Best Online Video: Mini-Doc.
• Radio-Canada received 11 nominations, including nominations in each of the three Best Online Video categories.
• The Narwhal dominated the Best Photo Storytelling category as a three-time finalist. In total, the publication received 10 nominations.
• The Walrus is a 7-time nominee, with one of those nominations for General Excellence in Digital publishing.
• The National Film Board of Canada is nominated for Best Digital Design, and Best Online Video: Short, and twice for both Best Online Video: Feature and Innovation in Digital Storytelling.
• Le Devoir, The Local, The Tyee, URBANIA, and Xtra Magazine each received five nominations.

Nomination Highlights

• CBC Music’s “60 Years of Indigenous Music Game Changers” is a finalist in both Best Arts & Culture Storytelling and Best Digital Editorial Package.
• Hadiya Roderique’s “Can I be a Black mother in a world so dangerous to Black children?,” published in The Globe and Mail, is a two-time finalist in the categories of Best Feature Article: Long and Best Personal Essay.
• CANADALAND is nominated for Best Podcast: News & Politics and is a nominee for the prestigious General Excellence in Digital Publishing category.
• “Far Away from Far Away,” an interactive story produced by the National Film Board of Canada, received recognition in the Best Digital Design category and the Innovation in Digital Storytelling category.
• The Globe and Mail’s “Gone” is nominated for Best Digital Design and Innovation in Digital Storytelling.
• Nominated for both Best Feature Article: Long and Best Photo Storytelling is “Pollinisation extrême,” published in BESIDE.
• The winners of last year’s General Excellence in Digital Publishing awards have all gone on to receive nominations in this year’s competition. The Tyee (winner in the small division) has received five nominations this year, in various categories. Hakai Magazine (winner in the medium division), this year received two nominations, both in the category of Best Science & technology Storytelling. Le Devoir (winner of the large division) is nominated five times, with two nominations in both Best Editorial Newsletter and Best Online: Video: Short.

EMERGING EXCELLENCE AWARD
Award sponsored by the Reader’s Digest Foundation

This award recognizes an individual whose early work in Canadian digital publishing demonstrates a high degree of craft and promise. Here are this year’s three talented nominees:

Justine de l’Église
Radio-Canada

Christopher Cheung
The Tyee

Anya Zoledziowski
VICE Canada

GENERAL EXCELLENCE IN DIGITAL PUBLISHING: SMALL, MEDIUM, AND LARGE PUBLICATIONS

This award recognizes the publication that most successfully fulfills their editorial mandate, represents the highest of journalistic standards, and effectively serves their intended audiences—we’re proud to present this year’s outstanding nominees.

Canadaland
CBC News
Radio-Canada
The Globe and Mail
The Local
The Narwhal
The Walrus 
URBANIA

For the full list of nominees, visit digitalpublishingawards.ca.

DIGITAL PUBLISHING LEADERSHIP AWARD
After careful consideration, our Board of Directors made the decision to postpone awarding this prestigious award. Rest assured that applications from 2020 will automatically be kept on file and considered for the 2021 awards season. The winner will then be presented, on stage, at the spring 2022 soiree. This was a difficult decision, but we look forward to awarding the Digital Publishing Leadership Award when it is safe for the industry to gather and celebrate.

CREDIT CHANGES & ADDITIONS
If you would like to make any credit changes or additions, please send details to info@digitalpublishingawards.ca with subject line “Digital Publishing Awards Credit Change.” The deadline for credit changes and additions is Monday, May 17, 2021 at midnight ET.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The National Media Awards Foundation is incredibly grateful for the support of: the Government of Canada, the Ontario Arts Council and Ontario Creates. We are also thankful for the support of CCR Solutions, Cision and Magazines Canada.

A special thank you to the talented Natalie Vineberg, who created this year’s visuals.

Thank you to Vesselin Stroumsky, for developing the NMAF’s online submissions and judging platforms.

We are also grateful to our roster of volunteer judges, who lent us their expertise and diligence in evaluating this year’s entries–thank you! To view the full roster of judges, please visit our website.

For further information: For media inquiries, please contact the NMAF at staff@magazine-awards.com

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