The Coast takes CAJ’s top investigative award
The Resort Municipality of Whistler is the winner of the Code of Silence Award, which names the most secretive government or publicly funded agency according to the CAJ.
The Coast's investigation into then Halifax mayor’s role as executor of a family friend’s estate took the Canadian Association of Journalists’ top prize for investigative journalism.
Reporter Tim Bousquet of The Coast was the recipient of the 2012 Don McGillivray Award, which is selected from the winners of the CAJ's investigative categories.
The Resort Municipality of Whistler is the winner of the Code of Silence Award, which names the most secretive government or publicly funded agency according to the CAJ. "The only spokespeople are the municipality’s mayor, CAO and public information officer," the press release says. "Experts at passing the buck, the control over information exercised in Whistler rivals that of certain federal departments and PR at the most secretive private corporations."
CAJ president Hugo Rodrigues said “Voters in Whistler, take note— your media are being kept from telling you what’s happening with your dollars due to these policies."
"If you care about what Whistler is doing with your hard-earned dollars, it’s time to effect change at the ballot box so these practices get changed,” he added.
[node:ad]Massey College, home to the William Southam Journalism Fellowships, received the CAJ President's Award.
Here are the other winners, according to the press release.
OPEN NEWSPAPER / WIRE SERVICE
Stephen Maher, Ottawa Citizen and Glen McGregor, Postmedia News, Dirty election tricks revealed
COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER:
Tim Bousquet, A trust betrayed, The Coast
MAGAZINE
Alison Motluk, Is egg donation dangerous? Maisonneuve
OPEN TELEVISION (UNDER FIVE MINUTES RUNTIME)
Robert Fife, Philip Ling, XL Foods investigation, CTV News
OPEN TELEVISION (OVER FIVE MINUTES RUNTIME):
Gil Shochat, Alex Shprinsten, Joseph Loeiro, Fatal Deception, CBC News – Investigative Unit
REGIONAL TELEVISION
Melissa Brousseau, Breaking the mold, CBC North – Maamuitaau
OPEN RADIO NEWS OR CURRENT AFFAIRS:
Alison Motluk, Wanted: Egg donor in good health, CBC Radio – The Sunday Edition
CAJ / MARKETWIRE DATA JOURNALISM AWARD
Steve Buist, Condition critical, Hamilton Spectator
PHOTOJOURNALISM
Darryl Dyck, Freelance/The Canadian Press
SCOOP
Jim Bronskill, Canada’s torture memos, Canadian Press
DAILY EXCELLENCE
Kim Bolan, Brazen killing may be gang retaliation/Sandip Duhre was shot to death, Vancouver Sun
PRINT FEATURE
Jon Wells, He sang with all his heart, Hamilton Spectator
JHR/CAJ AWARD FOR HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTING
Nahlah Ayed, Diane Grant, Seeking safety, CBC News – The National
CWA CANADA/CAJ AWARD FOR LABOUR REPORTING
Greig de Peuter, Nicole Cohen, Enda Brophy, Interns, unite! (you have nothing to lose – literally) Briarpatch
CAJ/CNW GROUP STUDENT AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
Marc Ellison, The Girls of War, Toronto Star/Carleton University
Tamara Baluja is an award-winning journalist with CBC Vancouver and the 2018 Michener-Deacon fellow for journalism education. She was the associate editor for J-Source from 2013-2014.