On this page:  Award categories | Eligibility | Additional rules | Last year's winners

RNAO's annual Media Awards honours journalists for their outstanding reporting on nursing and health-care issues.

Stories published or broadcast in Ontario during 2023 are eligible. Entries are scored by an independent panel of judges consisting of nurses and journalists.

Status: Closed

Award categories

In these categories, entries will be judged on news value, information and storytelling.

Category Awards
Daily newspaper Best news story
 
Best in-depth feature or series
Community newspaper
Best news story
 
Best in-depth feature or series

Radio
Best news report
 
Best in-depth report or series

Television
Best news report

Best in-depth report or series

Online Best news story
 
Best in-depth feature or series

Podcast
Best episode
 
Best series

Multicultural
Best news story
 
Best in-depth feature or series

Eligibility

  • All entries must be submitted by the deadline via the online submission form.
  • Limit of one entry per person. Entrants may not submit a single entry to multiple categories.
  • Winners of the last year's awards are not eligible.
  • Entries must be journalistic in nature, based on research and interviews. Opinion pieces and academic articles are not eligible.
  • Materials prepared by RNAO staff or staff of health-related associations or organizations are not eligible.
  • Trade publications, textbooks, or video/audio productions intended for health-care practitioners or audiences are not eligible.

Additional rules

  • There is no entry fee.
  • If nominating a story on behalf of a journalist, you must inform the nominee prior to submission.
  •  A benchmark cumulative score will be determined before judging commences, and winning entries must surpass this predetermined score to be eligible. If no article in a particular category surpasses this benchmark, no award shall be given out.
  • By applying for an award, you consent to RNAO using the contents of your submission to publicize the awards competition.

 

How to apply

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For print entries, please send PDF scans of the original article. Please also include a link if the story appears online.

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For broadcast submissions, links and/or electronic audio or video files are preferred.


Contact us

Winners are announced in the spring, and the awards are handed out at RNAO's Annual General Meeting in June 2024.

For more information, contact Victoria Alarcon at 1-800-268-7199 ext. 211 and Marion Zych at 1-800-268-7199 ext. 209.

Daily newspaper - Best news story
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Elizabeth Payne
Elizabeth Payne
Health reporter, The Ottawa Citizen

Elizabeth Payne is a veteran health reporter who has won awards for stories about health care in Canada and overseas. Among her award-winning features was a story about the first use of the Canadian-developed Ebola vaccine in Guinea in 2015. Since 2020, she has written hundreds of stories about the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on individuals and the health system. She also covered the convoy protests in Ottawa in 2022 that grew around opposition to pandemic measures.

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Daily newspaper - Best in-depth feature or series
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Bruce Deachman
Bruce Deachman
Reporter, The Ottawa Citizen

Bruce Deachman has been a reporter, senior writer and columnist with The Ottawa Citizen for close to 30 years. Over that time, he has covered a wide variety of topics, including health issues, politics, arts and entertainment, sports and municipal affairs. Throughout his career, he has focused on those whose stories have built and defined our city and society – whether high-profile or highly marginalized.

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Multicultural - Best in-depth feature or series
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Luis Ibarra
Luis Ibarra
Journalist, Latinos Magazine

Luis Ibarra was born in Mexico and immigrated to Canada in 2012. In Mexico, he was the director and journalist of five monthly magazines. After three months living in Canada and as a newcomer, he started working for Latinos Magazine, the only bilingual publication in English and Spanish for the Latin community. Now Latinos Magazine turns 10 years old in 2023 and Luis has interviewed ministers, consulates, ambassadors and international artists.

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Online - Best news story
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Talia Ricci
Talia Ricci
Reporter, CBC Toronto

Talia Ricci is a TV, web and radio reporter at CBC News in Toronto. She enjoys covering offbeat human-interest stories and exposing social justice issues. Talia is also an avid traveller and photographer. Her photography has appeared in various publications and exhibits. She recently held an exhibit of portraits of women from around the world at the Yorkville Public Library.

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Online - Best in-depth feature or series
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Cynthia Mulligan
Cynthia Mulligan
Journalist, CityNews

Cynthia Mulligan is an accomplished CityNews journalist who has worked in Toronto for more than 25 years. Cynthia received an Edward R Murrow award for her series on Kicking Cancer, a first-person account of what it is like to suddenly be diagnosed with cancer and the lengthy emotional process of treatment. Cynthia's current focus is politics, with an emphasis on investigative journalism.

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Meredith Bond
Meredith Bond
Multimedia content creator, CityNews

Meredith Bond has worked in journalism for the last eight years, beginning her career in radio before transitioning to digital news. She is currently a multimedia content creator for CityNews, specializing in online original and investigative journalism in collaboration with brilliant reporters across all beats, including the health sector.

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Radio - Best in-depth report or series
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Lauren Pelley
Lauren Pelley
Senior health and medical reporter, CBC News

Lauren Pelley is a senior health and medical reporter for CBC News. She has covered the global spread of infectious diseases ranging from COVID-19 to influenza to mpox, along with an ongoing focus on the Canadian health-care system, health policy, and pandemic preparedness.

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Radio - Best news report
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Mike Crawley
Mike Crawley
Senior reporter, CBC Toronto

Mike Crawley is a senior reporter for CBC News, covering Ontario provincial affairs. He has been a journalist for more than 30 years. Mike's career before coming to Toronto in 2008 included time as a newspaper reporter in British Columbia, a radio reporter in New Brunswick and a freelance journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya.

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Television - Best in-depth report or series
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Mahnoor Yawar
Mahnoor Yawar
Journalist, CityNews

Mahnoor Yawar is a seasoned journalist with over a decade of professional experience working in some of the largest newsrooms in Canada. One of her many accomplishments during her time at CityNews was overseeing a collaboration with OMNI News called ‘Behind Closed Doors.’ It detailed the epidemic of family violence in our communities and put a spotlight on often-silenced voices.

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Gabrielle Dainard
Gabrielle Dainard
Editor, CityNews

Gabrielle Dainard has worked in Toronto’s film and television industry, from independent productions to advertising to news, for 15 years, spending the last five years with CityNews. She’s been described by producers as someone who will go above and beyond the job description, doing whatever it takes to get the best possible story.

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Television - Best news report
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Aarti Pole
Aarti Pole
National anchor, CBC News Network

Aarti Pole is a national anchor with CBC News Network, covering live and breaking news for Canadians five days a week. She has worked with CBC News Network since 2016, prior to that she was a Washington Correspondent. Based in the U.S. capital, she covered the presidential campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Aarti began reporting in 2006 as a VJ in Terrace, B.C.

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David Eggleston
David Eggleston
Senior story editor, CBC News Network

David Eggleston is a senior story editor and chase producer with CBC News Network. He works with hosts to get newsmakers and guests on the air in a constant deadline-driven environment. Recent guests he has arranged for live talk include MLB superstar José Bautista, Christiane Amanpour, former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and former Mexican president Vicente Fox.

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