Premier Awards - Best News Story ( Circulation up to 1499,Circulation 1500 to 3999,Circulation 4000 to 6499,Circulation 6500 to 9999,Digital - Population under 10K,Digital - Population 10-99K)
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Place Name:
First Place
Contestant Name:
Rocky Mountain Outlook (Canmore/Kananaskis/Banff)
Entry Title:
'Wildlife paparazzi' putting pressure on Banff's grizzly bears: experts
Entry Credit:
Cathy Ellis
Judge Comment:
An excellent well-researched news story from reporter Cathy Ellis about 'wildlife paparazzi' putting pressure on Banff National Park's grizzly bear population, according to wildlife experts. Ellis' news story in the Rocky Mountain Outlook (AB) looked at how hordes of visitors and amateur photographers are hounding the grizzlies after they emerge from hibernation so they can post to social media.
Place Name:
Second Place
Contestant Name:
Rocky Mountain Outlook (Canmore/Kananaskis/Banff)
Entry Title:
Banff National Park wildlife staff urged 'transparent, fact-based' information on fake cougar attack
Entry Credit:
Cathy Ellis
Judge Comment:
Another well-written news story by Rocky Mountain Outlook (AB) reporter Cathy Ellis from her Banff National Park beat, this time examining a Banff's wildlife staff urging transparency, fact-based information on a fake cougar attack. Ellis shared with her readers Banff's wildlife team's exhausted efforts to let the public know based on evidence, a Calgary man's report to CTV gave a fabricated report on a cougar attack, however, this was disproved based on a lack of DNA evidence and investigation by subject experts who are familiar with the national park's more dangerous wildlife.
Place Name:
Third Place
Contestant Name:
Pique Newsmagazine (Whistler & Pemberton, BC)
Entry Title:
New report shows temp foreign workers ripe for abuse in Whistler
Entry Credit:
Brandon Barrett
Judge Comment:
Pique Newsmagazine (BC) reporter Brandon Barrett earns third-place honours thank to his news story showing temporary foreign workers are ripe for abuse in popular tourist destination Whistler. Barrett's reporting learned foreign temp workers abuse includes wage theft, contract breaches, housing instability and cultural barriers. All of these are among key challenges underscored in interviews conducted by Barrett with workers working in Whistler.
Competition Comment:
Two publications in this best news story category dominated when it came to scoring top marks: Rocky Mountain Outlook (AB) recorded three 90+ marks to garner first- and second-place honours, while the Pique Newsmagazine (BC) did likewise, and earned a third-place finish. These two publications finished first thru sixth based on marks. Rocky Mountain Outlook reporter Cathy Ellis has the best beat as she covers stories coming out of Banff National Park, with stories on grizzlies and a fabricated cougar attack garnered her first- and second-place bragging rights, while Brandon Barrett with the Pique taking third-place with his look at temporary foreign workers in Whistler, BC, are ripe for abuse, from wage theft to contract breaches. Going forward, dig deeper into your community news stories, with coverage of boards of education or city/town hall stories being important, but sharing that nights talking points you heard from the press gallery might require more indepth research to add some colour to the story for your readers. Look at your news stories from 360 degrees, and provide more colour to the story in order to captivate your readers because they might have already heard the story in short sound bites on local radio or TV, especially if you are publishing stories weekly or monthly. You have more time to flush out your news story, plus learn more in researching topics such as how raising taxes, banning library books or lack of housing and the consequences for your readers. Politics is a popular news story submission in this category, but look for the outcome from a political topic being reported on versus just sharing the talking points from the politicians being interviewed.
Shilo Stag (MB) Editor (Ret'd)
