2012 Atlantic Journalism Awards Finalists
Attachments
| Slug/Label | Van ban hard on schools, parents. |
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| Date Aired or Published | January 12, 2012 |
| Media outlet where first aired or published: | The Daily Gleaner |
| Name of Program: | |
| If co-produced, list partner: | |
| Location: | Fredericton |
| List awards, grants: | |
| Running time (TV/Radio): | |
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Short explanation of the story and how it developed: Coming from a small, close-knit community, I felt for the people of Bathurst after seven basketball players from the local high school and the coach’s wife were killed in January 2008. They were travelling home from a game and hit slippery road conditions just a few kilometres from home. Parents had already gathered at the local McDonald’s to pick them but all they heard instead were sirens. I was in university when it happened and I followed it closely - while I didn’t know anyone in Bathurst, I understood small-town life. I stuck with the story in the years that followed, watching as coverage shifted from mourning to the debate over the safety of 15-passenger vans. I got to know the mothers through their advocacy for change, work that eventually led to the vans being banned in schools across the province. I remember being happy for them when that news came in August 2008. Imagine my surprise when I found myself on the other side of the issue writing, “Van ban hard on schools, parents.” I didn’t set out to write a sports story when I was asked to do a piece marking the fourth anniversary of the accident but I knew I wanted to tell a different story. The van ban in schools had been written about many times over the years, but I felt one group had been left out: school sports teams, the ones that used the vans the most. Without knowledge of the local sports community, the preliminary research for the story was a challenge. In collaboration with The Daily Gleaner’s sports department, I connected with coaches and teams at several schools in our coverage area. For smaller schools, such as McAdam High School, losing the vans meant missing out on opportunities because bus rentals were too expensive. As Jody Robinson, the school’s athletics director, put it, the government took the vans and wiped their hands of any responsibility to help teams that rely on them. The ban has yielded some positive effects. School officials are much more cautious now when it comes to travelling in poor weather and driver training for those who transport school teams regularly is crucial. But for small, rural schools and their teams, there’s no question the ban has made things challenging. Telling their story in “Van ban hard on schools, parents” as part of the fourth anniversary added another degree of context to a story that isn’t going away anytime soon. Thank you for your consideration, |
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Resources of the newsroom (money and time) available to complete the story: During production of this story, the most valuable resource I had was the reporters in our sports department. Coming into the story with no knowledge of our local sports community, they were able to connect me with the sources. I was originally given two days to work on the story in advance of the accident anniversary, but the second day ended up being cut short when the Department of Education announced a restructuring of its districts. Due to our small staff size and the fact that education is my beat, I was called on mid-morning to work on a local follow related to the changes in addition to finish this front page feature. |
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