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2013 Atlantic Journalism Awards Finalists

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Slug/Label
Date Aired or Published November 11, 2013
Media outlet where first aired or published: CBC Radio
Name of Program: SHIFT
If co-produced, list partner: Atlantic Voice Christina Harnett
Location: Fredericton
List awards, grants:
Running time (TV/Radio): 17 minutes

Short explanation of the story and how it developed:

On Easter Monday in April of 2007, six Canadian soldiers were killed in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan. The soldiers were part of a contingent trained at CFB Gagetown. One of those soldiers was a reservist Christopher Stannix. CBC's Information Morning program in Fredericton had interviewed Christopher Stannix before he deployed. It was part of a special morning program looking at the Afghanistan mission. After he was killed, we replayed that interview and I also sent a copy of it to his family. What I didn't know was that Christopher was buried in McAdam and his mother and father grew up there and had recently retired and moved back to McAdam. I found out his mother serves as the silver cross mother for Remembrance Day services in McAdam and felt a strong desire to meet Kate and Ken Stannix to find out more about their son and to find out how they were doing and what impact the loss of their son had affected them and their family and what Remembrance Day means for them. For the first time in 7 years, Ken Stannix, a retired colonel shared his story about the loss of his son in Afghanistan. Kate and Ken Stannix's honesty provided a depth of emotion that was very moving and gave a true picture of the sacrifice of Canadian soldiers and their families in Afghanistan. Their story and their tenderness and love provided a layer of humanity that was remarkable for many who heard the story. This month, it was announced that the new Halifax ferry will be named in honour of Christopher Stannix. Ken Stannix said during the morning they spent with me, that every day is Remembrance Day. It was a sombre reminder of the true meaning of Remembrance Day.

Resources of the newsroom (money and time) available to complete the story:

As the producer of the morning radio show in Fredericton, I spent 3 days, gathering material and writing and editing the tape for the documentary. Producer Christina Harnett helped produce the item with editing and mixing in Halifax. The story took less than 5 days to finish(including the time I was given to collect the interviews and do the writing and editing of the piece). A longer version of the documentary aired on the documentary program Atlantic Voice.

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