A pair of Abbotsford News reporters have been named as finalists for provincial newspaper awards.
The finalists for the B.C. and Yukon Community Newspaper Association’s 2024 Ma Murray Awards were announced on Friday (March 22), and multimedia journalists Vikki Hopes and Ben Lypka have both been recognized.
Hopes captured a nomination in the Multimedia Feature Story Award category for her May 11, 2023 article that took a look at the controversial Lonzo Road homeless camp.
The story examined the issues surrounding the encampment and helped tell the tale through pictures, videos and a chart.
RELATED: ‘It’s the Wild West in there’: Abbotsford homeless camp causes health and safety concerns
Lypka earned a nod in the Arts and Culture Writing Award category for his June 13, 2023 story following the Robert Bateman Secondary School’s Art Activism class as they prepared for an art show inspired by women’s issues.
He was invited into the class one morning prior to the show, spoke to students and the teacher and took photos of show preparation.
RELATED: Abbotsford’s Robert Bateman Art Activism class exploring women’s issues at art show
Lypka also received a nomination in the Multimedia Feature Story Award category for his July 15, 2023 story researching the popularity of the Abbotsford Canucks through the use of Google Trends and charts.
He gathered data on the team’s popularity through a number of different methods and then compared and contrasted that data to the year prior and to other local professional sports teams.
RELATED: CHARTS: Abbotsford Canucks popularity growing according to Google Trends
The Ma Murray Awards recognize excellence in advertising, writing and photography as well as special publications as created by community news organizations around British Columbia and Yukon.
Three finalists have been announced in each categories and the winners will be unveiled at a BCYCNA gala at the Polygon Gallery in North Vancouver on April 20.
For a complete list of nominees, visit bccommunitynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2024-Ma-Murray-Finalists.pdf.