Premier Awards - Outstanding Reporter Initiative ( Circulation up to 1499,Circulation 1500 to 3999,Circulation 4000 to 6499,Circulation 6500 to 9999,Circulation 10000 to 12499,Circulation 12500 to 17499,Circulation 17500 and over)
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Place Name:
First Place
Contestant Name:
The Eastern Graphic (Montague, PE)
Entry Title:
Through the Cracks
Entry Credit:
Paul MacNeill, Rachel Collier
Judge Comment:
A clear winner due to the massive amount of work and dedication required by this two-person newsroom to publish this series looking at addiction and mental health in Prince Edward Island. A series with impact.
Place Name:
Second Place
Contestant Name:
The Lake Report (Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON)
Entry Title:
Evan Saunders
Entry Credit:
Evan Saunders
Judge Comment:
Kudos to this reporter for the initiative to report on this situation and follow it to its natural end. When sources refused to speak with him following some coverage, but then one of them later changes their mind after some internal changes within the parents' group, it shows how his initiative and dedication to finishing the story paid off.
Place Name:
Third Place
Contestant Name:
The Independent of Petrolia and Central Lambton,ON
Entry Title:
The Independent: Court transcript tells different version of Petrolia councillor’s 2018 charge withdrawal
Entry Credit:
Heather Wright
Judge Comment:
What prompted this journalist to go digging for public court records to confirm what a councillor had said regarding an earlier legal issue? What was found contradicted the tale the councillor was selling, one he continued to dispute. His comeuppance? Not being re-elected.
Competition Comment:
Entries that rose to the top in this field showed dedication and true initiative. Those able to demonstrate how the journalist(s) did more than cover an event or a meeting, or be invited to cover an issue show journalists that have their eyes and ears to the ground, are working sources, and public records to pull together the kind of unique coverage that informs and serves their readers well.
