2012 Atlantic Journalism Awards Finalists
Attachments
| Slug/Label | |
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| Date Aired or Published | November 2012 |
| Media outlet where first aired or published: | Atlantic Business Magazine |
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| Location: | Newfoundland |
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Short explanation of the story and how it developed: “The hideous strength of intolerance is measured most often by its banality; by a flimsy, cardboard sign hastily speared into a grassy boulevard of a busy Moncton roadway, a sign that, only two months ago, pronounced: ‘There are no jobs for English New Brunswickers here!’” With this tour de force of powerful imagery and purposeful, righteous indignation, Atlantic Business Magazine New Brunswick Contributor and regular columnist began his commentary on one of the truly contentious topics of conversation in his province: official bilingualism. His was a timely choice. The provincial government had just censured one of its MLAs for appearing to suggest that health care costs were running out of control thanks to the duplication of English services in French. The Acadian community rose up in outrage. The English community closed ranks. The editorial pages were full of partisan bickering. In fact, Bruce was the first journalist commentator to call for calm. “If a province composed of at least two distinct cultural groups expects to prosper in a developed world that cares nothing for internecine rivalries and parochial imbecilities,” he wrote, “it must abandon hoary tropes and simmering, secret resentments and, finally, address that elephant in the parlour; finally, order it to leave.” Indeed, Bruce’s cogency and relevance were matched only by his remarkable gift with words. His compelling appeal to reason carried the weight of a true call to arms. And the reader wants to march with him off the battlefield, past the ruins of common sense, to a better day. To wit: “New Brunswick’s . . . hungry soul cries out for the decency of its neighbours, the relevance of its government and the courage of its citizens, who declare in one triumphant voice, on a sturdy sign in the middle of a boulevard: “There are jobs for all New Brunswickers. . .ici!” |
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Resources of the newsroom (money and time) available to complete the story: |
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