Spec reporters take home four provincial awards
Hamilton Spectator journalists have captured four awards at the 2020 Ontario Newspaper Awards.
Five Spec writers were also named runners-up in four categories at the annual awards, which were announced Friday and honour journalists from dozens of newspapers across the province.
Jon Wells took home two awards, for Feature Writing (over 25,000 circulation) and for General News Feature.
In the feature writing category, judges called Wells’ story on the death of Port Dover fisherman Michael Smith “extensive ... with confident, detail-driven writing that compels the audience to keep reading.”
Wells’ story on the life and death of Hamilton animal rights activist Regan Russell was chosen as winner of the General News Feature category. Judges wrote that Russell’s death while protesting outside a slaughterhouse offered Wells “the opportunity to showcase his skills at both writing and reporting.”
“His piece was filled with fascinating research, intimate conversations with loved ones and clear-minded objectivity.
Katrina Clarke won the Enterprise Writing category for her Whisper Network investigation into McMaster University’s on-campus sexual violence policies. Judges gave Clarke credit for her investigation that looked beyond the arrest of a professor, into the culture that let sexual violence thrive and how the school’s investigations “compounded the suffering of victims and prioritized — intentionally or not — the protection of the university’s reputation.”
Maria Iqbal was named winner of the Beat Reporting (over 25,000 circulation) category, for her work on aging issues. Judges wrote that Iqbal “captured the human story, the human experience behind her beat.”
The judges noted Iqbal’s three-part Living with Dementia series detailed the complex process of moving a loved one into long-term care.
Sebastian Bron is runner-up in the feature writing category for a retirement home love story. Health reporter Joanna Frketich is runner up for beat reporting, while Wells got a nod for Spot News Writing (over 25,000) for a story about a drive-by birthday for a dying boy.
Spectator contributors Mark McNeil and Deirdre Pike were named runners-up for Column/Opinion Writing.
Editor-in-chief Paul Berton called The Spec’s award success an indication of “great work by all the reporters ... we’re very proud of them all.”