Register wins 13 awards for excellence

At a pair of recent galas to recognize excellence in religious media, staff of The Catholic Register took home an impressive 13 prizes, including five first-place awards, covering a wide array of writing and design categories.

Six of the awards came at a gala dinner of the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada (CPA) held in New Orleans on June 4. Those awards followed seven honours taken by The Register at the Canadian Church Press (CCP) awards dinner in Toronto on May 28.

On June 4, Register reporter Carolyn Girard and Art Director Paul McLellan each won a first-place prize. Girard was recognized for “Best Personality Profile” for a piece on Br. Anthony Canterucci that the judges said definitely answered the question “what does this person do that makes a difference.” McLellan was recognized as “Best Front Page” tabloid designer for a series of layouts judges lauded as “strong, active and interesting.”

The Register had previously won three first-place prizes at the CCP awards night: For “In-depth Treatment of a News Event” related to its overall package of news, analysis and opinion following  the arrest of former Bishop Raymond Lahey; for best editorial by a national publication; and for “Best Newspaper Feature” by Michael Swan for an article on bio-cremations, which the judges praised as extensive, valuable and accurate. Swan’s story also placed third in the feature category at the CPA awards.

In addition to her CPA recognition, Girard won a second and third place award from the CCP, for editorial direction of The Register’s Youth Speak News section and for black and white photography. The Register picked up two other CCP second-place awards: by McLellan for cover design and Sheila Dabu for news reporting.

The Register won second-place from CPA judges for editorial writing, plus  honourable mentions in the categories of feature writing and general excellence.