There are always unsung heroes
Industry awards are important. And they are useful. They help producers market their products, as the Oscars did earlier this week for the movies. And as the National Newspaper Awards did yesterday for journalism.
And they help remind us all of significant work.
It’s not just about self-congratulation; book publishers, television programmers, theatre producers, developers, home builders, scientists, architects, fashion designers, retailers and others help us recognize the scope of human achievement, and understand how it can improve society.
But for me, awards are a reminder there is so much good work out there — much of it singled out rightfully on such occasions, but so much that flies under the radar.
Four Spectator reporters were recognized by the National Newspaper Awards Friday, which is just a glimpse of the fine journalism done by our staff in 2022.
The Spectator’s Susan Clairmont, Sebastian Bron, Katrina Clarke and Steve Buist were among an esteemed group across Canada that were nominated.
But like Academy Award nominees, there are many others who didn’t get a nod.
There are, inevitably, questions about why some and not others. And only ever one good explanation: it’s a crapshoot. Judges and audiences have their biases, just like journalists.
In journalism, it’s my observation that stories about the biggest news events get the most recognition.
Sometimes it’s deserved, but sometimes it’s just journalists doing their jobs.
The smaller stories — the ones that come out of nowhere — are often harder to judge. I like those that require dogged reporting, keen observation, diligent investigation, studied analysis, ethical considerations, creative writing …
And there are so many that demonstrate that in The Spectator every day. In addition to those recognized by the NNA judges, Spectator journalists produced some excellent work last year.
Susan Clairmont’s Getting Rich series last fall, for example, or Jon Wells’ series entitled Hitman. Teviah Moro covered the opioid crisis and renovictions. Moro and Matthew Van Dongen’s reporting made the proposed expansion of Hamilton’s urban boundary an election issue. Nicole O’Reilly did a lot of original reporting around the tragic death of Devon Freeman. Grant LaFleche’s investigation headlined Ghosts in the Villa was important and enlightening, as was Joanna Frketich’s investigation of abuse allegations at Shalom Village.
Each of these stories — and many others — are the result of hard work by an even bigger team of committed journalists. They all deserve our attention.