Times Colonist reporter receives national honour
Nominated for rip-roaring tale about man known as Biker Bob
Times Colonist reporter Louise Dickson was honoured as a nominee at the National Newspaper Awards on Friday.
Dickson was nominated in the short feature category for her story on Hugh Robert Nisbet, known as Biker Bob. It told the rollicking tale of the final journey of Nisbet’s ashes, which were tossed into the ocean but kept washing ashore.
The award went to Caroline Alphonso of the Globe and Mail for taking readers inside a school where educators do their best to make the learning environment supportive for children battling debilitating illnesses.
Also nominated was Josh Rubin of the Toronto Star for the story of a Canadian food truck whose owners found themselves unexpectedly caught in the middle of the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba.
Dickson’s colourful tale begins with an anecdote about Biker Bob’s request to have his ashes floated away in a canoe — along with a twenty-sixer of Crown Royal — in Kootenay Lake.
His ashes ended up going on a wild ride that stretched all the way to the East Coast, before the story came to a conclusion three years later.
Dave Obee, editor and publisher of the Times Colonist, called the nomination an honour.
“We consistently punch above our weight class,” he said. “This nomination places us among the best in the country.”
Sixty-three finalists representing 19 organizations vied for awards in 21 categories. The awards were handed out Friday via a webcast in place of the usual gala because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Globe and Mail won a leading eight awards, including prizes for breaking news and project of the year.
Other top winners were La Presse and the Ottawa Citizen, which each nabbed three awards.
The Toronto Star and Le Devoir won two apiece.
And the subscription-based website the Athletic was a firsttime winner, taking home the Sports award long-form features by Dan Robson.
This year, Serge Chapleau of La Presse and Stephanie Nolen both took home their eighth lifetime NNAs — Chapleau for editorial cartoons, and Nolen for reporting in the Globe and Mail with two colleagues.
Their wins match a record that had been held by Jacquie McNish, who won eight times between 1992 and 2015.
Among other awards handed out out Friday, Marsha Lederman of the Globe and Mail won in the Arts and Entertainment category for a meditation on art and climate change, and a feature about Margaret Atwood’s frenzied activity after the death of her life partner.