AJAs 2024 Finalists
Climate effects in Prince Edward Island
| Slug/Label | Climate-PEI |
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| Date Aired or Published | July and September 2024 |
| Media outlet where first aired or published: | The Guardian |
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| If co-produced, list partner: | |
| Location: | Charlottetown |
| List awards, grants: | |
| Running time (TV/Radio): | |
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Short explanation of the story and how it developed: Yutaro Sasaki is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter, who works for The Guardian newspaper in Charlottetown on the climate change and environment beat. Prince Edward Island is a seasonal province whose main industries — fisheries, agriculture and tourism — depend on good weather and a stable climate. Over the summer months, Yutaro visited folks living and working in these industries who are experiencing unpredictable conditions that affect their ability to make a livelihood or even safely live and work on a rapidly eroding island buffeted by increasingly fierce storms. The three articles attached to this submission show fishers, farmers and cottagers who worry about their futures and some of the steps they're taking to mitigate the effects of a changing climate. These article are an example of the body of work Yutaro has undertaken in the climate category -- an issue he has explored in stories every week since joining The Guardian in June. Also of note is the fact that Yutaro is originally from Japan and approaches these stories in his new home of Prince Edward Island with a curiosity that benefits readers for whom the topic may be at risk of becoming "ho hum." For instance, The Guardian had published many stories in the past about sand dredging being needed in the Malpeque Harbour, but Yutaro went out on a fishing boat and got to the bottom of what is happening, why it matters and what are the competing schools of thought on how to permanently fix the issue for the safety and security of the people who rely on accessing that body of water. |
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Resources of the newsroom (money and time) available to complete the story: The Guardian gave Yutaro days at a time over the course of the summer of 2024 to visit in person with fishers, farmers and scientists looking at the effects of climate change. In a small, busy, daily newsroom, it is a luxury to set someone loose to report on a bigger issue without the pressure to file the same day. Driving times to some of the rural areas of the province exceeded two hours one way. To get government responses took additional time, with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans particularly requiring extra pressure to get the right source to answer the questions Yutaro had. In the case of one of the beekeepers Yutaro visited, he originally declined the interview because he thought the significant loss of his bees would be bad for business. Yutaro convinced him that sharing his story would help readers understand the pressures that climate change brings to an industry they might not otherwise have considered. Yutaro also shot his own photos and prepared video for some of his articles, like the Malpeque Harbour story, exhibiting the skills necessary in a multi-media journalist in today's newsrooms. |
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