Citizen reporter honoured for report on gend er

On a Saturday last April, Citizen readers learned the story of Carleton Place teenager Mikey Williams and his frustrating, painful, but ultimately rewarding transformation from physiological female to the young man he knew he was.

Titled A boy named Mikey: A gender journey in six chapters, the 3,800-word account by reporter Matthew Pearson spotlighted the efforts of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario to treat “gender independent” children — and the support Mikey has had from family and others during his transition.

This week, Pearson’s report was named winner of a Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) Media Award for best in-depth newspaper feature. The honour has left him “thrilled,” but “even happier knowing that it comes as a result of writing about brave young teens like Mikey, who are helping expand people’s minds by sharing their deeply personal stories of gender transition.”

Pearson, who joined the Citizen as a summer intern in 2008 and was hired full-time in 2009, says he set out to explore a topic some readers might not understand , and to tell others in Mikey’s situation that they are not alone.

“And,” he adds, “I wanted to write something for the sissies and the tomboys, the children who may not feel like they fit in, because they do have a place and they are worthy.”

Pearson has covered education and provincial affairs and now is the Citizen’s correspondent at city hall. He also teaches part-time in the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University.

The Citizen was not the capital’s only RNAO winner. Dani-Elle Dubé and Aedan Helmer of the Ottawa Sun were recognized for their series on ailing seniors losing home care .