AJAs 2024 Finalists
Chaos on Confederation Hill
| Slug/Label | Chaos on Confederation Hill |
|---|---|
| Date Aired or Published | March 20, 2024 |
| Media outlet where first aired or published: | NTV News |
| Name of Program: | NTV Evening Newshour |
| If co-produced, list partner: | |
| Location: | St. John's |
| List awards, grants: | |
| Running time (TV/Radio): | 3:53 |
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Short explanation of the story and how it developed: It was a historic day in the province as the provincial budget was postponed for the first time due to protests. These protests were held by fish harvesters and plant workers who were pushing back against the recent decision on snow crab prices. Beginning at 6:00 a.m. that morning, hundreds of protesters began to gather at the Confederation building, blocking the entrances. That week, they held a series of smaller protests calling for 'free enterprise'. During the protests that day, police horses were used to control the crowd which resulted in a harvester being injured with a broken hip and being transported to hospital via ambulance. A police officer was also injured and transported to hospital. |
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Resources of the newsroom (money and time) available to complete the story: On March 20th, 2024, I arrived at the Confederation building for the protests at 6:00 a.m. as they began and was on the ground as the events rolled out, with live hits on NTV and CTV throughout the day with the latest updates, up to the NTV Evening Newshour at 6:00 p.m. This was the first of three days of protests which I was on the ground covering for the three full days. I was on the ground for 12 hours that day covering the protests as they happened and covering the events live throughout the day. In addition to it being a long day, it was freezing temperatures which meant needing additional resources such as batteries, memory cards, hand warmers and food which were delivered by other staff from the NTV team. We were also not allowed to park a vehicle on the premises as police had cordoned off the parking lots, so we had to park far away and make trips to carry our gear. In addition to myself reporting and operating a camera, I had a camera operator, Tony Barrington with me throughout the entirety of the day. We were also covering the various sides and entrances of the building throughout the day which involved being on our feet for the whole day. During the police horse incident, we were front and centre amid what could have been dangerous for both ourselves and the equipment we were utilizing. Equipment used: two cameras, Dejero, IPhone 15 for photos and video uploaded online to Twitter (now X) and NTV.ca. |
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