There was a silver lining for the Now during the British Columbia and Yukon community newspaper awards ceremony in Richmond on Saturday (April 25).
The Now received a silver in the Newspaper Excellence Award in the largest circulation class. "Surrey Now is a sharplooking newspaper filled with features and stand-out front pages," the judges wrote.
"What really stood out was its ability to tackle serious issues in the community and provide the space necessary to analyze them."
The Now's "Neighbourhoods" series received a special mention. Judges liked the "very engaging" pieces which were "well-written and researched, and told great stories that display the heart of the community."
Meanwhile, reporters Amy Reid and Jacob Zinn received a silver Online Innovation Award for their report "NEIGHBOURHOODS: In Newton. And Proud of It."
The judges called it "a powerful story" and an "inspiring and comprehensive feature."
In addition to the written component of the piece, a video was embedded and further exploration was enabled by Googlemapping links that connect the story thread with the stories of Surrey's other neighbourhoods.
Reporter Tom Zytaruk received a silver award, and a bronze.
The silver was for his feature story "A Surrey family's dreams destroyed," looking at the homicide of Mahdi Halane in Whalley. The judges called it a "heartbreaking personal story of violent circumstance. Great use of language to describe the grief of one family."
Zytaruk's bronze, in the John Collison Memorial Award for Investigative Journalism, was for his report "Sobering Statistics," related to drunk driving. The judges said it was a "compelling look at a social problem that continues to defy a solution."
Now staff