Finalists announced for CJF Jackman Award for Excellence in Journalism

TORONTO, April 15, 2021 /CNW/ - The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) is proud to announce its shortlists for the CJF Jackman Award for Excellence in Journalism, honouring news organizations that embody exemplary journalism and have a profound positive impact on the communities they serve. Finalists are recognized in two categories: large and small media.

Through this prestigious award, the CJF has since 1996 recognized news organizations that embrace ideals of journalistic excellence – originality, courage, independence, accuracy, social responsibility, accountability and diversity.

"COVID-19 dominates the news and our lives, but the finalists' entries reflect the wide range of subjects that large and small news organizations addressed in great detail during the past difficult year for everyone," says jury chair Christopher Waddell, professor emeritus of the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University. "Their research and compelling investigative, explanatory and descriptive stories shed light on the many issues in communities across the country that continue to require public attention and response, even as the pandemic enters its second year."

The five finalists in the large media category (more than 50 full-time employees) and a sample of the work that highlights their excellence are:

• CTV News Calgary, for "The Spread of Racism," a documentary exploring the racism and discrimination Chinese and other Asian people experienced during the pandemic;
  
  
• The Globe and Mail, for its series investigating why Ottawa and the Public Health Agency were unable to respond effectively to the COVID-19 crisis despite Canada's heavy investment in pandemic preparedness after the SARS outbreak;
  
  
• Montreal Gazette, for exposing the horrific details at a Dorval nursing home where residents were abandoned and found dehydrated, malnourished and soiled in their own feces during the COVID-19 pandemic;
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Toronto Star/Investigative Journalism Bureau (Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto), for "Generation Distress," a cross-border collaboration involving more than 70 people—journalists, along with academics and researchers at 10 Canadian and US universities—for its series on the mental health crisis undermining a generation of young people; and
  
  
• Winnipeg Free Press, for "A Stain on Our Game," an investigative series on the life and destructive legacy of disgraced junior hockey coach Graham James.

The five finalists in the small media category (fewer than 50 full-time employees) and the work that highlights their excellence are:

• Canadaland, a news site and podcast network, for its reporting on the WE organization's ties to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's family and its controversial activities in Kenya:
  
  
• The Narwhal, a non-profit online magazine, for ground-breaking reporting based on freedom-of-information requests about the beleaguered Site C dam, the most expensive public project in BC's history;
  
  
• Open Canada, an online magazine, for "Protected," for detailing how Syrian refugees are building new lives while exploring the policies and politics around sponsorship and settlement, as reported by one of the 45,000 who arrived beginning in 2015;
  
  
• The Tyee, an online magazine, for an investigation into the RCMP's web spying program, Project Wide Awake, revealing how the force secretly buys and uses powerful surveillance tools while downplaying their capabilities; and
  
  
• Waterloo Region Record, for its use of access-to-information requests to disclose details about Helmut Oberlander, Canada's last suspected Nazi war criminal, who lives in the Waterloo Region.

All finalists' story submissions are available on our awards page.

The winners in both categories will be announced at the virtual CJF Awards ceremony on June 9 at 7 p.m. ET. To watch the free online event and view the sponsorship opportunities, visit the CJF Awards page.

The CJF Jackman Award jury members are:

• Christopher Waddell (chair), professor emeritus, School of Journalism and Communication, Carleton University;
• Catherine Cano, president of CanoVision and former executive with CPAC and Radio-Canada;
• Isabel Bassett, former minister of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation and former chair and CEO of TVO;
• Sonya Fatah, assistant professor, School of Journalism, Ryerson University;
• Cecil Foster, author and professor of Transnational Studies at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York;
• Peter Herrndorf, former president and CEO, National Arts Centre and former senior executive at CBC and TVO; and
• Wendy Metcalfe, vice-president of content and editor-in-chief, Hearst Connecticut Media Group.

Cision is the exclusive distribution partner of the CJF.

About The Canadian Journalism Foundation
Founded in 1990, The Canadian Journalism Foundation promotes, celebrates and facilitates excellence in journalism. The foundation runs a prestigious awards and fellowships program featuring an industry gala where news leaders, journalists and corporate Canada gather to celebrate outstanding journalistic achievement and the value of professional journalism. Through monthly J-Talks, a public speakers' series, the CJF facilitates dialogue among journalists, business people, academics and students about the role of the media in Canadian society and the ongoing challenges for media in the digital era. The foundation also fosters opportunities for journalism education, training and research.

SOURCE Canadian Journalism Foundation

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