Sun reporters win National Newspaper Award for best project

Journalists Dan Fumano and Matt Robinson of The Vancouver Sun won National Newspaper Awards Friday in recognition of their achievements in investigative reporting.

Fumano and Robinson won Project of the Year for their extensive probe into the case of Phillip Tallio, a Bella Coola man who has been in prison for 34 years for a murder he says he didn’t commit.

Fumano and Robinson’s in-depth series followed Tallio’s appeal of his 1983 conviction in the murder of a young girl.

The Vancouver Sun, together with the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, mounted a successful legal challenge to argue for the public’s access to follow the proceedings, which led to the release of thousands of pages of case material.

Fumano and Robinson shared a Webster Award for excellence in legal journalism for the series.

“I’m pleased that the tremendous work of Dan and Matt is being honoured with such a prestigious national award,” said Harold Munro, The Vancouver Sun’s editor-inchief.

“The Vancouver Sun is proud of their outstanding reporting on this important story.”

Postmedia journalists won four NNAs Friday.

The National Post won in the politics category for work by reporter David Akin and columnist Chris Selley that revealed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s secret vacation on the Aga Khan’s private island in the Bahamas. The reporting resulted in Trudeau becoming the first PM found to have broken the federal Conflict of Interest Act.

Edmonton Journal city columnist Paula Simons won in the columns category for a series of pieces on the death in care of a four-yearold Indigenous girl named Serenity.

The Ottawa Citizen’s Christina Spencer won the Claude Ryan Award for editorial writing for pieces about Ontario’s long-term care facilities, federal tax changes for corporations and a proposed Ottawa homeless shelter.

Postmedia journalists were finalists in eight other categories.

“The recognition our journalists received (Friday) reinforces the immense range of talents found in our newsrooms across the country,” Gerry Nott, Postmedia’s senior vice-president for content, said.

“Our readers are well served by the passion and excellence these journalists bring to work every day.”

The Globe and Mail won six awards while the Toronto Star and Montreal’s La Presse each had four.