The OCNA is proud to recognize the outstanding work produced each week by our member newspapers and showcase it to readers and advertisers. Thank you to everyone who submitted entries for the 2019 BNC Awards.
The OCNA invites you to participate in a fun, feel-good awareness campaign for the industry -- a contest that asks readers to recycle newspapers into something new. "This Old Newspaper?!" challenges participants to use newspapers to create...
A long-time newspaperman, Charlie was most recognized for his weekly editorials. He usually wrote three per issue! And they explored all topics and included everything from municipal matters to medieval engineering He worked for the London Free Press...
Donald George (Gummer) Spearman worked in the community newspaper industry in Ontario for approximately 45 years. Born and raised in Dresden, he was hired in 1939, at the age of 17, as a reporter for the Dresden News, where he was eventually promoted...
Rick Shaver started his newspaper career in 1978 after graduating from St. Lawrence College in Cornwall. His first seven years were spent in sales with daily papers in Cornwall, Kirkland Lake and Brampton. In 1985 he opened the Cornwall Seaway News...
Born in 1885, Rixon lived to become recognized as a pioneer in weekly newspapers, despite losing his eyesight as a youth. With an intense love of journalism, and a degree from Queen's University, he purchased a weekly newspaper, the Arthur Enterprise...
Jean (nee Bier) Morrison was an integral, active and admired leader in the community newspaper business for many years. Born in New Hamburg, she was a teacher by trade. After graduating from the University of Western, she taught mathematics at Napanee...
Rick's long career and love for the newspaper industry began in 1967, after answering an ad he spotted in the Globe and Mail looking for a reporter at the Gore Bay Recorder on Manitoulin Island. When asked if he could type, Rick replied 'yes' and...
In an economic environment unprecedented in our lifetimes, a newspaper's most urgent work is to support its community and local businesses while remaining financially viable itself. Peter Lamb, an industry veteran with more than three decades of sales...
Jim Cumming was born with ink flowing through his veins. His father, grandfather, and grandmother all worked in the newspaper industry, from Ontario through to Saskatchewan. Sure enough, Jim followed in the footsteps of his relatives.
Art, born in Sudbury in 1912, was a newspaper publisher, editor and innovator. In 1920, while working at a newspaper in North Bay, the stock market crashed, and the Great Depression hit. After being laid off, he sold his Model T for the price of a new...
The OCNA launched the Hall of Fame Awards earlier this year, and received a number of nominations outlining the achievements and initiatives of newspaper pioneers. We are excited to unveil the nine extraordinary individuals who have been inducted.