Journalists with the Alberni Valley News have earned provincial recognition at the annual B.C. and Yukon Community Newspapers Association’s Ma Murray awards.
Editor Susie Quinn was awarded silver in Spot News Photo of the year (under 11,000 circulation) for a photo of a Conair Aerial Firefighting tanker dropping a load of retardant on a wildfire on Arbutus Mountain on Aug. 3, 2023.
Elena Rardon won silver for Business Writing (under 11,000 circ.) for her in-depth article in the 2023 Progress edition, “Community of Port Alberni poised to make the switch from forests to ocean.”
“The Alberni Valley News has a strong editorial team in editor Susie Quinn and journalist Elena Rardon,” says publisher Rachel Theus. “This is reinforced by the number of awards they have collected over the past few years, particularly through the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I congratulate them on their 2024 BCYCNA writing and photography awards.”
The Alberni Valley News, part of Black Press Media, is one of three papers in a central Vancouver Island group overseen by publisher Teresa Bird. The Westerly News won a silver in general excellence at the BCYCNA awards for 2023, and the Parksville Qualicum Beach News won gold in general excellence. Michael Briones from the PQB News won gold for sports photos (over 11,000 circulation) and silver for photo essay. Parksville editor Philip Wolf won silver for his weekly column.
Margaret (Ma) Murray was an American-Canadian newspaper editor, publisher and columnist who died in 1982 in Lillooet, B.C. She immigrated to Canada from Missouri in 1912, started working at a Vancouver weekly newspaper and married the editor, George Matheson Murray. The couple spent the next few decades involved in various publishing ventures, including starting the Bridge River-Lillooet News.
A member of the Order of Canada, Murray was known for her acerbic commentary on everything from politics to morals.
The awards named for her recognize the achievement of the BCYCNA’s 90-plus member publications in B.C. and Yukon.