2014 Atlantic Journalism Awards Finalists
Attachments
| Slug/Label | |
|---|---|
| Date Aired or Published | 2014 |
| Media outlet where first aired or published: | CBC New Brunswick |
| Name of Program: | CBC News: New Brunswick |
| If co-produced, list partner: | |
| Location: | Northern New Brunswick |
| List awards, grants: | |
| Running time (TV/Radio): | 6:32 |
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Short explanation of the story and how it developed: This submission includes three stories representing my experience as CBC's Northern New Brunswick reporter in 2014. I started as a video journalist with CBC in January, 2014 and have been delighted by the stories I've found - strange, wonderful, surprising, and full of characters. Though the political and economic centres of the province are far away, there is a wealth of stories here reflecting the people of New Brunswick and, through them, policies and culture. The first story reflects my political coverage during the provincial election. I spent lots of time in Tracadie, the riding of thrice-defeated Serge Rousselle. I worked our live TV show from Bathurst, giving local context as the results rolled in. Most here are Francophone, so one challenge was finding English speakers to make the stories come alive, and to interview during our show. The big story the day after the election was the "Red North." The Liberals toppled several conservative strongholds. And Rousselle finally got his win. This was a same-day file with an hour-long drive to see analyst Jean St-Cyr in Caraquet, a trip thirty minutes across the peninsula to get Rousselle on his victory lap, and finally an hour-long drive home to to edit and file from Bathurst. The second story is one of several I've filed on Bathurst's abandoned mill property. In 2005, Smurfit Stone closed the mill, laying off hundreds, before it was eventually sold to Green Investment Group, an American company that promised to clean up the site. By 2014, GIG had liquidated any equipment of worth, pulled out their workers, and abandoned the site...owing a million dollars in back taxes. Not only an eyesore, the site continues to put residents at risk. An old rotting pipe has, for years, been causing sinkholes. I noticed the most recent on a run off-hours and followed up with the homeowner. After my story aired, the City of Bathurst declared a state of emergency so that it could assume jurisdiction to repair the hole without overstepping Green Investment Group. The story then became part of a larger investigation into the company by my colleagues at CBC Toronto. The third story aired nationally after I filed for for CBC New Brunswick. As the only English television reporter stationed in Northern New Brunswick, I cover many stories close to the heart of the Acadian population, broadcast for an English-speaking audience. I've reported on several church closures in the economically-depressed region, but this was a new angle - priest recruitment. In Northern New Brunswick, people knock on doors of businesses that aren't even open yet, looking for jobs. But the diocese had to go as far as France to find young men willing to take over the duties of an ageing, overworked staff of priests. |
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Resources of the newsroom (money and time) available to complete the story: Being the only reporter for CBC in Northern New Brunswick, I'm expected to file regularly, often the same day I pitch the idea. Most pitches are my own (not assigned) as I am the only staff member who lives here. Sometimes, being "from away" gives me the advantage of seeing novelty and news value in a situation others have come to see as regular. But I have very little time to devote to each story. I cover the entire top half of New Brunswick - it takes four hours to drive from one end to the other. For each of these stories, I made contact with sources, filmed the story for television, making sure to also collect appropriate sound to use in radio stories and current affairs shows, wrote the script and filed from the Bathurst office for a 5pm deadline. I write my script so stories can be used for radio both during the early evening newscast, and for our morning shows. Occasionally, I cut a separate radio piece from the material gathered. Also key to my storytelling is the Internet. I tweet throughout my day on the road to update the audience and often brief the web writers on details of the story. Note: also attached is a letter of support from Darrow MacIntyre, senior producer at CBC New Brunswick |
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