Humber Polytechnic’s student newsroom, Humber Et Cetera, has been named a finalist in all six college and university media categories at the Ontario Community Newspaper Association's Better Newspaper Competition awards.
The nominations recognize excellence in feature writing, news reporting, editorial writing, photography and overall newsroom performance.
“It’s so great. I’m so proud of the students in the program,” said Lara King, the program coordinator for the Journalism Advanced Diploma program. “They work really hard to follow the best practices. We’re asking them to find multiple live sources, to tell these stories thoughtfully, and their work paid off.”
OCNA’s awards celebrate community journalism across Ontario, highlighting work that informs, reflects, and strengthens local audiences in the province.
Among the finalists is Luis Miguel S. De Castro, who was nominated in the photography category for his front-page photograph of Pascal Siakam.
De Castro said he was surprised when he learned he had been named a finalist.
“I was genuinely shocked when I saw my name on the list,” he said. “I didn’t even realize the Ontario Community News Awards recognized individual categories like photography.”
He said the recognition affirmed his commitment to pursuing photography professionally.
“Sometimes a photo can show emotion or a moment more clearly than words,” he said. “Which makes stories feel more real and personal.”
Harnoor Kaur is a finalist in the news category for her report on Humber counsellors.
For Kaur, she was honoured to see her story announced as a finalist.
“I felt a mix of gratitude and honour to be listed alongside other student journalists who must have put in so much hard work to produce important stories that keep their communities informed,” she said.
She said reporting the story required persistence and careful verification
“Verification and research took significant time, and writing required careful attention to fairness and responsible handling of allegations,” she said.
Kaur said strong community reporting is rooted in trust.
“Trust is gained through showing up consistently, listening carefully and responsible reporting,” she said.
Asher Klaver is a finalist in the editorial category for his opinion piece on Martin Luther King Jr., which examined how King’s legacy is interpreted in modern political debate.
“My first reaction was really about the entire Et Cetera team,” Klaver said. “The fact that the whole paper was nominated meant the paper overall had done so well.”
Klaver also thanked his professor, Rob Lamberti, for his support.
He said strong editorials require clarity and conviction.
“Having a strong thesis and having a strong theory of how things work makes an editorial stand out,” he said.
Third-year journalism student Anayas Fernanda Medeiros was nominated for best photo and best feature. Both are from her coverage of the race horses returning to Woodbine.
King said the sweep across all six categories reflects the newsroom’s emphasis on multi-sourced reporting and industry standards.
“We make sure that they are looking at multi-sourced pieces. They're looking for experts, they're looking for different sides of stories so that we are telling stories that don't show bias,” she said. “And we also want to look for people who have an experience so that they can kind of connect those experiences to the bigger picture.”
She said opportunities like Humber Et Cetera help prepare students for careers in an increasingly competitive industry.
“It's become more challenging for journalists to speak to people, to get live sources, and we still believe that that is the best way to hone your skills,” she said. “It's really about the research and the original sourcing and learning from different people, and our students manage it on a weekly basis."
