2012 Atlantic Journalism Awards Finalists
Attachments
| Slug/Label | |
|---|---|
| Date Aired or Published | December 19, 2012 |
| Media outlet where first aired or published: | CBC News |
| Name of Program: | Here and Now |
| If co-produced, list partner: | Sherry Vivian and Paul Pickett |
| Location: | St. John's |
| List awards, grants: | |
| Running time (TV/Radio): | 11:23 |
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Short explanation of the story and how it developed: This story all started when I (Robyn Miller) moved to St. John's from Ottawa in November 2011. When I got here I met Jimmy Joe Eason and his sisters Lorraine and Kay. They grew up in the orphanages in St. John's in the early 1950s and are always telling stories. One of the stories they told me was this one. How in 1953 and 1954 Earl Chilton orchestrated a plan to get them and all the other orphans in St. John's a Christmas gift. It was such a touching story but I didn't know how to make it happen. I didn't know where Earl Chilton lived or if he was even still around. Then about a year later Eason mentioned that he and another orphan from Mount Cashel were going to visit Earl at his home in Bowling Green Virginia. It would be Doug Fowler's first time meeting Chilton, something he had wanted to do for a long time. Christmas was coming and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to cover the story so I pitched it. My producer liked the idea and within less than a week myself and my camera person Sherry Vivian were on a flight heading to Chilton's home town of Bowling Green Virginia. We spent two nights in the community doing interviews and getting to know the family. We were there for the entire emotional reunion and it ended up being one of the very few good stories to come out of Mount Cashel. |
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Resources of the newsroom (money and time) available to complete the story: The trip to Bowling Green Virginia cost the CBC about $3000, plus salary pay for Robyn Miller (journalist), Sherry Vivian (camera) and Paul Pickett (editor) We were on the ground there for 2 nights and three days. About five days were spent writing and editing the piece together. |
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