Tri-City News awarded five times at the 2021 Ma Murray Awards

TCN earned five medals, including two gold, from the prestigious event that recognizes publications across B.C. and Yukon in honour of the late Margaret "Ma" Murray.

The stage was set for the virtual version of the Ma Murray Awards on June 10, 2021.BCYCNA

Tri-City News is a winner.

On Thursday night (June 10), our status as one of the best and trusted community newspapers in B.C. was confirmed by our industry peers when we were awarded three times for excellence in journalism at the 2021 Ma Murray Awards.

Hosted by the BC Yukon Community Newspaper Association (BCYCNA), the annual event — which went virtual a second straight year due to the COVID-19 pandemic — recognized the best publications and their stories from the last year.

Tri-City News won the silver medal for general excellence in the largest circulation category.

SurreyNowLeader won gold, and one of our sister Glacier Media publications, North Shore News, won bronze.

Individual honours went to digital journalist Stefan Labbé and photographer/reporter Mario Bartel.

Labbé won gold for environmental writing for his feature about the scientific implications of the annual Christmas bird count that attracted 105 birders who spotted more than 8,800 birds and 73 species during their tally on the first Saturday of 2020.

Labbé also collaborated with Bartel on the year’s best multimedia feature, an online presentation of 2020’s best photos and the stories behind some of them.

As well, Labbé earned two silvers for his photography, one for a feature photo of two seniors meeting through the window of a locked-down seniors residence, another for spot news for a photo of mourners at a memorial for a Port Coquitlam family killed when their plane was shot out of the sky in Iran.

Labbé recently moved on to a more expansive reporting position with Glacier Media, where his stories will appear all across the province.

The BCYCNA represents 93 newspapers across B.C. and the Yukon and together, they reach almost two million readers.

The annual excellence awards are named for the late Margaret “Ma” Murray, a pioneer in the industry who homesteaded with her husband, George, in an Anmore home they built in 1916.

In total, Tri-City News received five nominations for this year's Ma Murray Awards, remaining a finalist in a pair of photography categories.

You can visit the BCYCNA website for more.

- with a file from Kyle Balzer, Tri-City News