Sun’s Bolan to get special honour
‘Gutsy, hard-nosed’ crime reporter will receive lifetime achievement award
Kim Bolan, longtime crime reporter with The Vancouver Sun, will be recognized with a lifetime achievement award later this year at the Jack Webster Awards.
Bolan, who has covered crime for more than three decades at The Sun, will be honoured with the 2017 Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achieve Award, which recognizes a journalist’s body of work and their contribution to B.C. news throughout their career, in honour of news legend Bruce Hutchison.
Hutchison had worked at The Vancouver Sun from 1963 until his death in 1992.
“It is a huge honour to get this recognition from the Webster Foundation in the name of such a renowned journalist and following in the footsteps of so many talented people in the media,” said Bolan.
Bolan has developed a large following through her crime blog Real Scoop and her reporting for The Sun.
She has covered the Air India terrorist bombing, organized crime in B.C., and ongoing gang violence.
She has previously been awarded the Courage in Journalism Award by the International Women’s Media Foundation, the first ever Press Freedom Award from the National Press Club of Canada, two National Newspaper Awards, two Canadian Association of Journalists awards, and six Jack Webster awards.
“This is a tremendous honour that recognizes Kim Bolan’s brave and tireless pursuit of the truth,” said Vancouver Sun and Province editor-in-chief Harold Munro.
“She is an outstanding investigative journalist who has dedicated her career to exposing the darkest corners of B.C.’s criminal underworld in the face of repeated threats and intimidation. At the same time she has quietly assisted families torn apart by gang violence, and helped young men and women who otherwise may have been lured into the gang lifestyle.”
Ernest Yee, co-chair for the Jack Webster Foundation, called Bolan the type of “gutsy, hard-nosed reporter who is becoming increasingly rare, and increasingly valuable.”
“Like Jack Webster, her career shows how dogged attention to the police beat can hold up a fascinating mirror to our community,” said Yee in a statement.
The Jack Webster Awards celebrate the best of B.C. journalism, in honour of B.C. reporter and broadcaster Jack Webster.
This year’s awards ceremony and dinner, where Bolan will be honoured, takes place Oct. 12 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Vancouver.
This is a tremendous honour that recognizes Kim Bolan’s brave and tireless pursuit of the truth.