SP photographer finalist for two national awards
Michelle Berg, a veteran photographer at the Saskatoon Starphoenix, has been named a finalist in two categories at a prestigious national awards ceremony.
As part of the News Photographers Association of Canada national pictures of the year awards, which take place in a virtual event on Sunday, Berg is nominated in the sports action and feature photo story categories — both for images connected to Indian relay racing at Marquis Downs.
Her feature photo story follows the Poitras family from Saulteaux First Nation. With the impending closure of Marquis Downs — Saskatchewan's only thoroughbred racetrack — the family gave Indian relay racing a try to keep four generations of horse racing alive.
Her sports action image captured Joshua Jackson racing to the finish line during the Aug. 21, 2021 Indian relay races at Marquis Downs.
In recent weeks, Starphoenix reporters and staff have been nominated for several awards.
Reporter Zak Vescera was awarded the Goff Penny Memorial Prize in the large market category for his work at the Starphoenix over the past year. The Goff Penny honours work published in daily newspapers by Canadian journalists between the ages of 20 and 25.
Vescera's work that was recognized included stories from a series entitled Trapped, which examined unsafe housing, HIV transmission and incarceration through the lens of addiction and overdose.
Trapped was nominated in the
Local Reporting category of the National Newspaper Awards. Vescera, reporter Thia James, photographer Matt Smith and Dave Breakenridge were also nominated for their contributions to the series.
Trapped was also nominated for a Canadian Journalism Foundation Award for Excellence in Journalism.
The Starphoenix was also part of the Clean Water, Broken Promises Consortium, which was nominated in the large media category at the CJF awards.
Former Starphoenix reporter and editor Andrea Hill was part of a team investigating water issues on First Nations. Hill still works for Postmedia as national executive producer for verticals.