Postmedia honoured with four National Newspaper Awards
Postmedia journalists won four National Newspaper Awards Friday, in categories recognizing their achievements in covering breaking news, local reporting and photography.
The newsrooms of the Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun and Fort McMurray Today were honoured in the breaking news category for their combined coverage of last May’s Alberta wildfire and the unprecedented evacuation of nearly 90,000 people from Fort McMurray and the surrounding area. Fort McMurray Today’s staff were among those ordered to leave, continuing to report on the disaster even as they fled to safety.
Leah Hennel of the Calgary Herald and Calgary Sun won in the Feature Photo category for her shot of a horseback rider on the range.
The Toronto Sun’s Stan Behal won his third NNA, this time in the News Photo category for his shot of a grieving father after his daughter was killed in an automobile crash.
Paul Schliesmann of the Kingston Whig-Standard won in the local reporting category, which recognizes exceptional reporting of significant local issues. Schliesmann was recognized for his work reporting on the living standards of marginalized people in his community.
Windsor Star columnist Anne Jarvis and reporter Dave Battagello were nominated for an NNA in the explanatory work category for an investigation into the longawaited Gordie Howe International Bridge.
Jarvis and Battagello explored why the mega-project seemed to grind to a halt at one point.
Jarvis spent weeks tracking down sources, combing through documents and filing freedom-ofinformation requests to find out what was going on. Her narrative raised questions about whether the owners of the Ambassador Bridge were trying to influence the new Canadian government. Battagello, the Windsor Star’s border expert, provided backgrounders on the history of the international project.