Associate editor Michael Swan led the way with three first-place and two second-place awards. Art Director Lucy Barco (two firsts) and Youth Editor Jean Ko Din (a first and a second) were also multiple winners.
“I can’t remember a year when we’ve received so many honours,” said Publisher and Editor Jim O’Leary.
“It’s a tribute to the entire Register staff.
“But maybe the real winners are our readers. Ultimately, they’re the beneficiaries of all the hard work and dedication behind these outstanding efforts.”
Swan’s trio of first-place prizes came from a special series The Register produced in 2015 from Africa. He was recognized for in-depth news reporting for articles from a refugee camp on the Ethiopia border with Somalia, which the judges praised for “providing a 360-degree view of the refugee crisis in the Horn of Africa.” The same assignment also gave Swan a top prize in news photography for a “very powerful” photo of a hungry child that the judges said “inspires the reader,” as well as first place in feature photography for “a wonderful piece of photo journalism.”
Swan’s second-place awards were for a feature on African hunger and a news report on Syrian refugees.
Barco won a first-place award for what the judges called “an awesome” front-page design on the subject of Pope Francis and climate change. She also shared a first-place prize with Managing Editor Mickey Conlon for layout of an in-depth feature.
Ko Din took first place in the “department” category for her editing of The Register’s popular Youth Speak News section, which was praised for its simplicity, design and writing. She was runner-up in the biography category for a feature on St. Junipero Serra.
Freelance photographer Mossa Faddoul took top honours in the category of photo essay for a Mother’s Day feature layout. The Register also won first place in the category of editorial writing for an editorial on Omar Khadr.
Register columnist Bob Brehl and contributor Herman Goodden both won second-place awards, Brehl for opinion writing and Goodden for personal reflection. The Register’s newest columnist, Deacon Robert Kinghorn, placed third in general column writing.