Postmedia reporter wins award for young Canadian journalists
A look at foreign donations to the Trudeau Foundation after Justin Trudeau’s Liberal leadership win, an evocative book review of David France’s How to Survive a Plague, a Q&A with a researcher fighting cow farts and climate change and an investigative piece on the wealthy donors behind Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch.
This eclectic mix of stories, published in the National Post, landed Postmedia’s Zane Schwartz one of the 26th annual Hon. Edward Goff Penny Memorial Prizes for Young Canadian Journalists.
“Zane brings an intense curiosity and tireless energy to his work, mining the most dense data and reports for rich material. His versatility — from deep investigations to quickerturn around crowd-pleasers — makes him a valuable asset in the newsroom,” said Anne Marie Owens, editorin- chief at the National Post.
Schwartz is the 2017 Michelle Lang Fellow, who began at the National Post mid- October 2016 and is now continuing his fellowship at the Calgary Herald.
“Witnessing the talent, commitment and work ethic of young journalists like Zane is heartening for our industry,” said Jose Rodriguez, editor-in-chief at the Calgary Herald/Calgary Sun.
“He embodies new age journalism with his understanding of digital investigative tools, a reporter’s curiosity and an unshakable commitment to the truth,” said Rodriguez.
The award is tied to a long history of journalism in Canada.
Edward Goff Penny was the first president of the Parliamentary Press Gallery in Ottawa and the first reporter to be appointed to the Senate.
His grandson, Arthur G. Penny, was the former editor of the old Quebec Chronicle.
In Arthur’s final will and testament he asked that two prizes for young journalists be established in memory of his grandfather after the death of his wife and son.
The awards were founded in 1991 and presented for the first time in 1992. Journalists must be between the ages of 20 and 25 to be eligible.
Zane’s work won in the large market category, with a circulation exceeding 25,000.
The other winner, Jane Gerster, won in the small market category, with a circulation of 25,000 or less, for her work with the Moose Jaw Times-Herald in Saskatchewan. She’s now with the Winnipeg Free Press.