2014 Atlantic Journalism Awards Finalists
Attachments
| Slug/Label | Shaw Street Fire |
|---|---|
| Date Aired or Published | Feb 19, 2014 |
| Media outlet where first aired or published: | CBC Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Name of Program: | Here and Now |
| If co-produced, list partner: | |
| Location: | St. John 's |
| List awards, grants: | |
| Running time (TV/Radio): | 9:30 |
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Short explanation of the story and how it developed: On the afternoon of February 19th, during one of the worst snowstorms in 2014, a fire broke out in a seniors’ apartment building on Shaw Street in St. John’s. The Fire department evacuated Maplewood Manor, and hundreds of seniors suddenly found themselves outside in the middle of a raging blizzard. They emerged in wheelchairs, using walkers, many in just slippers with nothing but the clothes they were wearing. The CBC crew spent three hours out in this blizzard, delivering a compelling, informative package with stunning visual impact. Our reporter on the scene was Chris O’Neill-Yates. Chris was on another assignment that day and had just filed her story. When word of the fire reached the newsroom, every available reporter had been assigned. So instead of going home at the end of the day, Chris she put her hand up and volunteered to brave the raging elements to go out and cover this story. This was all developing shortly before the evening news show was about to go to air. Videographer, Sherry Vivien, made her way to the scene and shot the first dramatic pictures as the the fire engulfed a wing of the building. Chris interviewed people on the scene, while respecting the challenging circumstances the seniors were in, as well as the difficult job the firefighters and other first responders had to do that evening. Chris did regular live hits into the supper hour news, updating the audience over the course of the hour-and-a-half broadcast, gathering new information in between live hits. Chris conveyed the story descriptively and with energy for hours, despite the numbing cold. The image of Chris in her live shots tells the story of the kind of night it was out there! Meanwhile, the snow was falling so fast and so thickly, the live operator, Keith Burgess, and videographer, Bruce Tilley, had a difficult job on their hands. All the equipment was getting covered in snow by the minute. The crew didn’t have the use of a satellite truck or another kind of transmission vehicle because the area was cordoned off to vehicles due to the fire. So the crew relied on a new broadcasting transmission device called a Dejero to get the signal back to the station, and they did so flawlessly. In the meantime, Chris didn’t have a live cue, so each time she did a live hit with the studio the videographer cued her ( you can hear sometimes in the hits!). This was live, breaking news at its rawest and most immediate under unbelievably onerous conditions. Reporting on breaking news is tough enough at times, but Chris did it in a blizzard with such professionalism and confidence. The whole crew used their skills, experience and determination - overcoming the weather and the technical challenges - to bring the viewer the story everyone was talking about across the province that night, and in the days that followed. |
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Resources of the newsroom (money and time) available to complete the story: No additional resources other than those employed daily for the Her and Now supper hour broadcast. |
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