2015 Atlantic Journalism Awards Finalists
Attachments
| Slug/Label | ST WALSH CHINA SEALS |
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| Date Aired or Published | November 24, 2015 |
| Media outlet where first aired or published: | CBC Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Name of Program: | Here and Now |
| If co-produced, list partner: | Philippe Grenier and Paul Pickett |
| Location: | Shenyang, China, and Fleur de Lys and St. John's Newfoundland |
| List awards, grants: | Asia Pacific Foundation Media Fellowship |
| Running time (TV/Radio): | 4m48s |
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Short explanation of the story and how it developed: We heard that the St. John’s fur store Always in Vogue was going to open a seal fur shop in China. It would be China’s first luxury seal fur store. This caught our attention because the sealing industry is at a low point. The 2014 seal hunt only brought in 10% of its 400,000 seal quota. Its products are banned in the US, the EU and even Russia. But in northern China, fur is popular and seal products are not banned. For the owners of Always in Vogue, it was a risky decision to branch out that way but one that could be lucrative. We decided to cover what could be the last hope of a dying industry. For the story, Philippe Grenier and I travelled to rural Newfoundland’s Fleur de Lys to look at a refurbished seal tannery for the China operations. We also did interviews at the fur store in St. John’s. Then we flew to Shenyang China where the sister store of Always in Vogue had just opened. We were at the China store for its first local media event. We applied for our visas in July and after months of back and forths we finally got them in late November. This project was thanks to a media fellowship from the Asia Pacific Foundation, and the cooperation of CBC Newfoundland and Labrador and Radio Canada in the Maritimes. We did the same stories for local audiences in French and English. My story aired in Newfoundland and Labrador on CBC’s Here and Now. Paul Pickett was the editor and story producer. |
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Resources of the newsroom (money and time) available to complete the story: This story started with a pitch to the Asia Pacific Foundation for a media fellowship to go to China. I was selected as one of three fellows for 2015 and given financial support of $7,000 for the trip. After speaking with our bosses at CBC and Radio Canada, it was decided that video journalist Philippe Grenier would accompany me on the trip. His trip was cost shared by both our local shops. His trip to China cost $5,000. We spent three days in rural Newfoundland and eight days in China for the story. Editing took five days. |
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