2014 Atlantic Journalism Awards Finalists
Attachments
| Slug/Label | Fort Mac |
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| Date Aired or Published | December 11, 2014 |
| Media outlet where first aired or published: | The Coast |
| Name of Program: | n/a |
| If co-produced, list partner: | n/a |
| Location: | Halifax |
| List awards, grants: | n/a |
| Running time (TV/Radio): | |
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Short explanation of the story and how it developed: Working in Fort McMurray—more accurately, commuting from Nova Scotia to Fort McMurray and back again—is a part of the east coast’s social and economical landscape. In July, editor Stephanie Johns met with freelance writer Veronica Simmonds to discuss an entirely Fort Mac-themed feature. Simmonds would contact a typical couple separated for long periods as a result of this out-of-province work. Their touching story served as a jumping-off point to delve into the social, economic and environmental impact of this industry. In addition to the print story and evocative photos from both Halifax and Fort McMurray, we decided to push the story as far as we could, including audio postcards dedicated to those living away from home (a night at a Mooseheads game, happy hour at the Split Crow, a trip on the ferry and a late night stop at King of Donair), extensive infographics and a single-scrolling standalone site at features.thecoast.ca. In addition, to compliment the multimedia package online we decided to make the entire print issue Fort Mac themed: The food page was about donairs in Fort Mac, the arts page was an interview with a Fort Mac artist who uses bitumen to paint, the music page was about a Cape Breton transplant who moved to Fort Mac and started a metal band and so on. We even changed the flag on the newspaper's cover page from “The Coast” to “The Sands.” It resulted in a lot of confused phone calls but helped draw attention to a feature we had poured a lot of time and effort into, and between print and online presentation made for a truly multimedia package. |
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Resources of the newsroom (money and time) available to complete the story: The Coast decided to use a single-scrolling layout for the story online. Freelancer Veronica Simmonds wrote the feature, The Coast commissioned audio “postcards” from freelancer Erica Butler, we hired two photographers—one to shoot in Halifax and one to shoot in Fort Mac, to get a better sense of the separation the two main subjects felt all year. Coast production manager Elliot Magill created infographics for the site and a map. Coast arts editor Stephanie Johns oversaw the issue. |
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