2014 Atlantic Journalism Awards Finalists
Attachments
| Slug/Label | packFOWLERajsubmission |
|---|---|
| Date Aired or Published | Shark Kills - July 24th 2013, Plane Crash - Aug 16, 2014, Luke Powers - Jan 23, 2014 |
| Media outlet where first aired or published: | CBC |
| Name of Program: | Shark Kills = CBC NB, Plane Crash = CBC The National, Luke Powers = CBC NB |
| If co-produced, list partner: | |
| Location: | Shark Kills on Grand Manan and Blacks Harbour NB, Plane Crash on Grand Manan, NB - College Stabbing in Fredericton, NB |
| List awards, grants: | |
| Running time (TV/Radio): | 7:46 Total Run - 3:00 Shark kills, 1:51 - Plane Crash, Luke Powers - 2:20 |
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Short explanation of the story and how it developed: Shark Kills - I included this story in my submission because it is one of my best investigative stories. I completed it during my internship at CBC in Fredericton. While working on my biology degree alongside my journalism career I've made incredible contacts with researchers who have been sceptical of media in the past. Among them were a pair of marine biologists who eventually helped research and develop this story of possible illegal poaching of sharks on Grand Manan Island off the coast of New Brunswick. After I had completed a TV article on their research, one of the marine biologists sent me a picture of a fisherman she'd known - sitting on a pile of dead sharks. In the two days that followed I paired my journalism knowledge with my biology experience to determine the species of the animals in question, their status of endangerment and conservation in Canada, and the regulations surrounding their capture and slaughter. Digging deeper on-line I was able to find the location where the sharks had been culled. With that information I was able to find much more gruesome ones pictures of what was happening there. Some appeared to show sharks having their fins cut off. There were also dead porpoises and basking sharks in the pictures along with a few short videos. They were taken offline only minutes after I came across them. Luckily I had saved them as soon as I came across them. It being my first summer working as a journalist my bosses at CBC Fredericton were hesitant to send me on such a large assignment. There were also questions of safety due to previous incidents in the province with angered fishermen where it had been incredibly dangerous for journalists covering the area. To quote my producer who has covered the conflict Afghanistan in years prior - "I've never feared so much for my life then dealing with enraged fishermen and their livelihood (in reference to the Burnt Church crisis 1999-2002.) It was decided that another CBC worker would accompany my cameraman and I, simply to increase our presence to three bodies in case of any incidents while we were working there. The plan was to cross on the first ferry going to Grand Manan during the day and take the last ferry out. But when when of the ferries broke down it meant we were stranded overnight. We cursed our heavily branded CBC van as we hid it behind a woodpile overnight by our bed and breakfast. Our interviews with DFO and the fishermen's association went off without a hitch - we were warned not to try to contact the fishermen in person. The owner of the weir did not speak with us - instead sending his pre-teen daughter to the door while he slipped out the back. During our last few hours on the island we set out to find the weir where the shark killings took place. There are no roads to the point where it is located, nor are there maps for the area. GPS on our cell phones also didn't work because there were no cell towers in range. My colleague and I took of on foot in the pouring rain and scoured the area searching for Bradford's cove weir.After many hours of running through the wet woods, often through pools of cold water up to my waist we returned to the van without finding the cove. After begging for 30 more minutes of hunting came into a grove overlooking the weir and never felt so vindicated. We got our shots, filmed a stand-up and left the island intact. During the ferry ride home and well into the night I edited the television piece via laptop and wrote the print story for our website. This story resulted in DFO investigation that lasted several months. In the end - no charges were laid - but several of the contacts I made on that island have to told me in confidence that some of the people involved were fired, some disciplined by their employer, and that as a result of the story it is highly unlikely sharks are being slaughtered on Grand Manan island anymore. Because of the change this story inflicted, and the challenge it was during the early stages of journalism career, I have chosen for consideration. PLANE CRASH - I included this story in my submission because of it was a breaking news story that I covered for a national audience. When an air ambulance plane crashed meters before the runway on Grand Manan island it killed the pilot and a veteran paramedic - both prominent members of the tiny island. The accident happened very early on a Saturday morning - far from Fredericton where I was the only New Brunswick reporter for the weekend. My cameraman was stationed in Saint John and my producers were in Halifax. I was on the road as soon as I heard about the accident and before I had any approval from my producer because he wasn't on shift yet. Because the way the Grand Manan ferry schedule works I knew that I'd have to race to make it in time, or be forced to wait for the next one 4 hours later. My cameraman, Brain and I made it to the terminal with no less then 5 minutes to spare. We were on scene before the crash investigators were. Because of the nature of the crash and those involved the story changed from one of regional interest to one of national interest. This meant my producers were now based in Toronto, and due to limited cell signal - most of my coverage for the 24-hour News Network, the CBC radio news, as well as The National television show was self-directed. As we gathered the story, talking with the wife of the pilot who did not want to speak on camera, as well as talking with friends and locals, we would film interviews and standups for radio and 24-hour network and race back to an area with decent cell-signal to upload our material to Toronto. We must have put on an extra 100 km just driving back and forth over that island to deliver updated content every hour on the hour. We built the story as we delivered to Canada that weekend. I wrote and edited the television piece on the ferry back to the mainland. When it came time to voice the piece we scoured the entire ship for an area where our microphones wouldn't pick up the omnipresent roar of the ships engines. In spite of the dire nature of that story I ended up placing my head and a microphone in a toy-box full of stuffed animals in the ships nursery while using one of my legs to keep a rattling grate in place while I voiced the entire piece for The National. At the end of the day we had produced 5 news hits for the 24 hour networks, a half-dozen radio updates and a national television piece which was also used for our regional (- not to mention the constant tweets.) I chose this breaking news article over my coverage of ice storms or train derailments for two reasons. Number one being the stories remote location and demand to satisfy several news bureaus with only my cameraman for guidance for most of the story. The second reason was that I would return to Grand Manan for the next day for a follow-up story, as well as the two funerals for the men that died. Because of the way the story was told, the son of the paramedic who was killed opted to speak with me just minutes before his fathers funeral. To this day that blows me away, I'm not sure that I could do that if the roles were reversed. I have included that interview in this submission. LUKE POWERS - I included this story in my submission because I feel that it caused the most change in a life. I wasn't working the day a man attacked three people at Eastern College in Fredericton with a machete-style knife. I wasn't going to school either - UNB classes were cancelled due to a strike. During a Risk game with other locked out classmates I searched the name of the suspect on Facebook and realized that we had a single friend in common. I sent a message to that person despite not talking to that person for over a decade and her living in Calgary. Within minutes she called me back. I had to abandon the board game to fully take in what my friend was telling me about the man that had "snapped" and started stabbing people. Over the next hour I came to know Luke Powers, not for what he had done, but what he had been through. An abandoned veteran, suffering from PTSD after being set on fire and having that fire stomped out so viciously that it destroyed his body. The discharge and abandonment by the military would go on to eventually destroy his mind. I would go on to write the story for web, and create a radio and a television article (both of which I have included in this submission.) A day after the stabbing people came to know the boxer, soldier and father that Luke Powers had been before his mental illness led to the school stabbings. I chose this story for submission simply because doing it changed how people saw this lone man. He was no longer just a crazy with a knife, but a man who had asked repeatedly for help but was never given any. Since this story ran Luke was found to not criminally responsible for his actions, diagnosed with PTSD, and according to his friend is now getting the help that he needs. The change that came about by talking with the friends of a man that I have never met is something I am humbled to have been apart of. It epitomizes journalism for me. |
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Resources of the newsroom (money and time) available to complete the story: Shark Kills - Two days research/planning (plus convincing bosses that an intern was capable of doing a big as story as this.) Two days for filming in the field and editing/writing web and TV articles. Grand Manan - Day One of coverage - 8 hours regular working day, plus 2 two hours overtime. No lunch breaks. Three more days of coverage would follow, normal working hours. The second day was a follow up to the initial crash and days three and four were for funeral coverage. Luke Powers - One evening talking with friends of Powers, one regular 8 hour day writing, editing and recording TV, Print and Web articles. |
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