Leader-post, Starphoenix staff share in award for water series
The Regina Leader-post is among the winners announced by the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) annual awards.
The Leader-post was part of a consortium with the Institute for Investigative Journalism (IIJ), Toronto Star, Global News, Le Devoir, and National Observer nominated in the 2019 CAJ Awards Data Journalism category for the Tainted Water project. The awards were announced online May 30.
The series investigated levels of lead in tap water across the country. In Saskatchewan, the series, also titled Parched, showed tap water samples from Regina, Saskatoon, and Moose Jaw had some of the highest measured levels of lead-tainted water in Canada.
At the Leader-post, reporter Jennifer Ackerman, in collaboration with the IIJ and Global News, revealed residents in Regina were not being informed about sampling results, and there was a lack of clarity and support around measures people could take to protect themselves. Replacement — or testing — is not mandatory for homes which have lead service lines on the private side of the property line. At the Saskatoon Starphoenix, reporters Thia James and editor Andrea Hill provided residents information about the situation in that city, where municipal officials had done a better job of addressing the issue, but there were still important improvements to be made.
The substantial packages of stories that launched both on digital platforms and in print in early November, led quickly to followup stories on the public and government reaction, and an editorial demanding change.
Tainted Water/parched has also been nominated for a Canadian Journalism Foundation award, as has the Leader-post/starphoenix series Fees May Apply. Those awards will be announced June 11.
Meanwhile, Saskatoon Starphoenix reporter Zak Vescera has been recognized as one of Canada’s top young print journalists.
Vescera, 23, has been awarded the prestigious Goff Penny Memorial Prize for his work at the Starphoenix as well as the Vancouver Sun and Vancouver Province, where he worked before moving to Saskatoon in the fall of 2019.
Among the pieces for which Vescera was honoured were a deep dive into why Saskatchewan’s rate of HIV is twice the national average and why Indigenous people are persistently and disproportionately affected by it, and an article illustrating efforts by Saskatoon’s Sanctum Care Group to operate an anonymous drop-off area for newborn babies after it was put on hold by the provincial government years prior.
“The Starphoenix staff are thrilled to see a passionate, talented reporter like Zak recognized with this award,” said Starphoenix editor-in-chief Heather Persson.
“His work is already making a difference to vulnerable people in Saskatoon and Saskatchewan, and we are excited to think of the important work he has yet to do.”
Vescera is the second Starphoenix reporter to win the Goff Penny Memorial Prize. Andrea Hill, now the Starphoenix’s acting managing editor, won the award in 2016.
The Goff Penny honours work published in daily newspapers by Canadian journalists between the ages of 20 and 25.