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2013 Atlantic Journalism Awards Finalists

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Slug/Label
Date Aired or Published Nov. 22, 2013
Media outlet where first aired or published: CBC News
Name of Program: CBC News: New Brunswick
If co-produced, list partner:
Location: Saint John
List awards, grants:
Running time (TV/Radio): 3:29

Short explanation of the story and how it developed:

I was given a tip one day about a growing population of Filipino immigrants living on a remote island in south-western New Brunswick. I was immediately interested in finding out more about how they came to live in an area. Especially since their new home, Deer Island, is a place many people living in the region have never heard of. What began as an interest in their story, quickly ballooned into a three-part series about the changes Deer Island had gone through over the past three decades. It ended with this story about the Filipinos. I chose to present the it in three different locations. First on the lobster processor's floor, which I intended to tweak the viewer's interest by introducing the Filipinos. I interviewed one of the workers here which was used as a snapshot of all the immigrants seeking a better life. I then introduced the conflict of the story by interviewing the plant's manager who explained why the Filipinos were sought by the plant. This included an explanation of how the plant was almost lost without them. I then introduced the audience to a couple who had the first local/immigrant marriage since the influx of Filipinos. It was a way to show how they were becoming a key part of the community, while also displaying an "immigrant success story." I ended the story with this woman's thoughts of the future which I intended to echo the hopes of the original islanders.

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

I was given two days to shoot a three-part series on the island. I did this as a videojournalist and edited the story on my own back in Saint John on the day it aired.

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