HALIFAX, April 10, 2012 /CNW/ - The 2011 AJAs (Atlantic Journalism Awards) finalists have been announced. To view the 2011 finalists visit: http://ajasonline.org/finalists2011. Finalists are competing to win the gold and silver awards.

The AJAs gala dinner and awards event will be held on Saturday, May 5, 2012 at the Delta Fredericton. A Symposium on Journalism Education in Atlantic Canada will also be held the same day.

Tickets for the show and gala dinner are available online at www.AJAs.ca. For daily updates, follow the AJAs on Twitter (@atlanticJawards) and 'like' the Facebook fan page.

Online News Reporting
#435 Bethany Horne/Neal Ozano/Jacob Boon/Hilary Beaumont/Nick Rudnicki - OpenFile - Halifax, NS - Inside Peter Kelly's Eviction of Occupy NS.
#272 Laura Fraser/Dan Arsenault/Rick Conrad/Susan Bradley - The Chronicle Herald -Halifax, NS - Occupy Nova Scotia.
#182 Terra Tailleur - CBC News Nova Scotia - Halifax, NS - The Occupation Ends.

Best Page Presentation: Newspaper
#403 Ken Simmons - The Telegram - St. John's, NL - Swap Meet.
#175 Matt Dempsey/Steve Zinck - The Chronicle Herald - Halifax, NS - Debate behind Closed Doors.
#233 Mike Landry - Telegraph-Journal - Saint John, NB - A Horror so Refined.

Photojournalism Spot News: Newspaper
#469 James West - The Daily Gleaner - Fredericton, NB - St. John River Rescue.
#260 Noel Chenier - Telegraph-Journal - Saint John, NB - Dog Rescue.
#294 Ron Ward - Times & Transcript - Moncton, NB - Police Arrest Suspect in Robbery Attempt.

Photojournalism Feature: Newspaper
#474 Cole Burston - The Daily Gleaner - Fredericton, NB - Goalie in Net.
#265 Kate Braydon - Telegraph-Journal - Saint John, NB - Butterflies Wait to Fly.
#153 Keith Gosse - The Telegram - St. John's, NL - The Chase.

Atlantic Magazine Article
#445 Carol Moreira - Nova Scotia Open to the World - Halifax, NS - A Place to Think.
#517 Jon Tattrie - Halifax Magazine - Halifax, NS - Justice Delayed.
#538 Sara Jewell - Saltscapes Magazine - Bedford, NS - The Circle of Life.

Atlantic Magazine: Best Cover
#317 Atlantic Business Magazine - St. John's, NL - The Rise of Generation Plus - March 2011.
#499 East Coast Living - Halifax, NS - Back to Life - Winter 2011.
#420 Halifax Magazine - Halifax, NS - Going to the Big Leagues - October 2011.

Atlantic Magazine: Best Profile Article
#305 Alec Bruce - Atlantic Business Magazine - St. John's, NL - The Beautiful Dreaming of Wadih Fares.
#505 Jack MacAndrew - Saltscapes Magazine - Bedford, NS - Snowbird by Birth.
#511 Jessica Burns - Halifax Magazine - Halifax, NS - Brain Candy.

Breaking/Spot News Reporting: Print
#518 Amy Reusch - The News - New Glasgow, NS - Bill Clinton's Surprise Appearance.
#529 Dan Benoit - Miramichi Leader - Miramichi, NB - I Can't Hold Her, Sarge.
#480 Shawn Berry - The Daily Gleaner - Fredericton, NB - High-Speed Chase Ends in Crash.

Breaking News Radio
The judges did not select finalists in this category.

Breaking News/Spot News: Television
#448 Bart Fraize - NTV News - St. John's, NL - Springdale Street Fire.
#544 Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon - CBC News - Saint John, NB - Oland Homicide Search Warrant.
#326 David Cochrane - CBC News - St. John's, NL - Murder on Portugal Cove Road.
#164 Phonse Jessome/David Laughlin - CBC News - Halifax, NS - Fiery Crash.

Enterprise Reporting: Print
#202 Peter McGuire - Telegraph-Journal - Saint John, NB - Martha's Mystery.
#177 Stacey Colwell - Bridgewater Bulletin - Bridgewater, NS - School Board Controversy.
#534 Tim Bousquet - The Coast - Halifax, NS - Peter Kelly's Failure of Will.

Enterprise Reporting: Radio
#436 Kate Letterick/Karin Reid-LeBlanc - CBC Radio - Moncton, NB - Grasshopper Foundation.
#458 Maggie Rahr /Christina Harnett - CBC Radio - Halifax, NS - Proof of L.O.V.E.
#237 Marie-Eve Cousineau - Radio-Canada Acadie - Moncton, NB - Lorsque le vestiaire deviant une salle de classe.

Enterprise Reporting: Television
#345 David Cochrane/Darryl Murphy - CBC News - St. John's, NL - Life Altering Injuries.
#333 Rebecca Lau - Global Maritimes - Dartmouth, NS - Organ Donation Series.
#346 Zach Goudie - CBC News - St. John's, NL - Behind Closed Doors.

Feature Writing: Print
#479 Hilary Paige Smith - Telegraph-Journal - Saint John, NB  - Artistic Cabbie not Driven by Money.
#197 Lois Legge - The Chronicle Herald - Halifax, NS - Seeing the World in Black and White.

Feature Writing: Radio
#227 Bethany Horne/Christina Harnett - CBC Maritime Magazine - Halifax, NS - The Colored Home.
#298 Connell Smith - CBC Maritime Magazine - Saint John, NB - The St. Croix Alewives.
#378 Diane Paquette/Mary Lynk - The Late Show - CBC Radio - Halifax, NS - Ottilia Chareka.

Feature Writing: Television
#238 Anne Godin - Radio-Canada Acadie - Moncton, NB - La petite fille aux sous noirs.
#284 Brian Higgins - CBC PEI - Charlottetown, PEI - Guard Dog.
#350 Natalie Kalata - CBC News - St. John's, NL - 9/11 Jersey Girls.

Business Reporting: Any Medium
#310 Brett Bundale - The Chronicle Herald - Halifax, NS - NewPage Bidding War.
#279 Marc-Antoine Ruest/Peter Dawson/Paul-Emile d'Entremont - Radio-Canada Acadie - Halifax, NS - Chantier Naval Irving: rétombées, attentes et défis.
#255 Marie Wadden - CBC News - St. John's, NL - Courting Greenland.

Sports Reporting: Any Medium
#168 Monty Mosher - The Chronicle Herald - Halifax, NS - Between Wind & Water.
#245 Robin Short - The Telegram - St. John's, NL - Pro Hockey Returns to St. John's.
#352 Zach Goudie - CBC News - St. John's, NL - Coady Porter's Story.

Arts & Entertainment Reporting: Any Medium
#251 Jacques Poitras/Christina Harnett - CBC Maritime Magazine - Fredericton, NB - Fourteen Angels.
#221 Marty Klinkenberg - Telegraph-Journal - Saint John, NB - John Richardson.
#307 Rob Antle - Atlantic Business Magazine - St. John's, NL - Stage Fright.

Commentary: Any Medium
#498 Craig Babstock - Times & Transcript - Moncton, NB - A Letter to a Brave Woman Who Refuses to be a 'Victim'.
#311 Marilla Stephenson - The Chronicle Herald - Halifax, NS - Go Ahead and Laugh.
#329 Paul McLeod - The Chronicle Herald - Halifax, NS - Memo to Mayor Peter Kelly.

Best Television News Broadcast (Same Date Newscast)
#244 CBC News - Compass - Charlottetown, PEI.
#368 CBC News - Here and Now - St. John's, NL.
#339 Global Maritimes - Evening News - Dartmouth, NS.

Video Journalist: Television
#165 Kevin Harvey - CBC News - Halifax, NS.
#384 Peter Cowan - CBC News - St. John's, NL.
#226 Stéphanie Blanchet -Radio-Canada Acadie - Halifax, NS.
#449 Steve Thomson - NTV - St. John's, NL.

Editorial Cartooning
#149 Bruce MacKinnon - The Chronicle Herald - Halifax, NS.
#212 Greg Perry - Telegraph-Journal - Saint John, NB.
#524 Michael de Adder - Several Maritime Newspapers.
#540 Sean Leslie Casey - Cape Breton Post - Sydney, NS.

Best Information News Radio Program (Selected Program)
#542 Information Morning Halifax - CBC Radio - Halifax, NS.
#392 Maritime Morning - News95.7 - Rogers Radio - Halifax, NS.
#355 The St. John's Morning Show - CBC News - St. John's, NL.

Best Radio Newscast (Selected Newscast)
#159 CBC Radio News - Halifax, NS.
#395 News95.7 - Rogers Radio - Halifax, NS.
#535 VOCM Radio News - St. John's, NL.

Best Multimedia Feature (Special Project)
#321 CBC New Brunswick - CBC New Brunswick Team - Fractured Future - The Shale Gas Story.
#275 The Chronicle Herald - The Chronicle Herald Team - Crossroads -The Changing Face of Rural NS.
#489 The Coast/King's School of Journalism - The Coast - University of King's College - Halifax, NS - Manufactured Slums.

The Jim MacNeill New Journalist Award
#421 Bethany Horne - OpenFile - Halifax, NS.
#303 Selena Ross -The Chronicle Herald - Halifax, NS.
#423 Stephanie vanKampen - CBC PEI.

Lifetime Achievement Award

The recipient of the 2011 AJAs Lifetime Achievement Award is the late Graham W. Dennis owner and publisher of The Chronicle Herald, Halifax NS.  Mr. Dennis died last year at the age of 84 after spending more than 57 years with the newspaper.  Born in Halifax in 1927 and a fiercely proud Nova Scotian, Graham Dennis became publisher in the days of typewriters and telegraphs and presided over one of Canada's few independent newspapers into the Internet age.

Mr. Dennis, as he was known to all on his staff, was still proprietor of The Halifax Herald Ltd. and publisher of The Chronicle Herald well past his 80th birthday. His tenure at the paper extended into the digital age, when newspapers are as well-known for websites as for newsprint.  It is an era that would have seemed utterly foreign to him in 1954 when, at age 26, he became publisher after the death of his revered father. Never during that time did he lose faith in the idea that a daily newspaper should be a force for positive change in the community, as well as a business.  He was responsible for hiring hundreds of journalism students for summer work terms and was a friendly counsel and advisor to hundreds of other journalists throughout his career.  Because of his leadership the Chronicle Herald is still a dominant newspaper in Canada.