2015 Atlantic Journalism Awards Finalists
Attachments
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| Date Aired or Published | June 1 through December 8, 2015 |
| Media outlet where first aired or published: | CBC Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Name of Program: | |
| If co-produced, list partner: | |
| Location: | Newfoundland and Labrador |
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| Running time (TV/Radio): | |
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Short explanation of the story and how it developed: Show of Work: 1. Memorial University to cancel thousands of journal subscriptions Published by CBC News, December 8, 2015 I wrote this story after receiving a confidential tip from a source about the nature and severity of impending journal cuts at the university. After researching the story’s validity, I pitched the idea to my producer and had one day to acquire information, chase interviews, and package the piece for web and radio. This story provoked a heated response from professors and students, many of whom had no idea the cuts were coming. It was picked up by national platforms and inspired a widespread discussion on the academic journal publishing system. Ryerson University actually responded to the story saying that it too had to cut its journals, which I also reported on. After the initial story’s publication, Memorial University decided to extend its consultations on the matter. 2. MUN spending growth in spotlight as budget cuts loom Published by CBC News, June 1, 2015 Last spring I doggedly covered the provincial budget cuts to the university and broke several stories about rising tuition fees for the student paper. After following my work, a producer asked me to research and write a story on Memorial University’s financial situation for CBC, as it was an issue of intense local interest. In researching this story I went back through several years of MUN’s audited financial statements, calculating changes in spending, hiring, and revenue. I secured interviews and determined lines of questioning, then partnered with a broadcast reporter to produce the piece for television and radio. Researching this story involved one week of carefully scrutinizing documents, requesting information, and interviewing sources. 3. Sex-ed curriculum needs major update: Planned Parenthood Published by CBC News, November 16, 2015 I decided to look into Newfoundland and Labrador’s sexual education curriculum after listening to a lecture by journalist Selena Ross about her work on the Rehtaeh Parsons case. Ross discussed how many of the teens she interviewed had no concept of what constituted consent and couldn’t understand how Parsons could have been raped. I thus wanted to know whether Newfoundland and Labrador’s sex-ed curriculum included these concepts. After carefully reading curriculum outlines, I learned that consent was not mentioned and healthy sexual relationships were not discussed. After a provincial leadership debate when politicians said they’d consider a curriculum review, I decided to reach out to sexual health experts to see what they thought could be improved and I interviewed several high school students to learn about their experience in the classroom. I also talked to sex-ed teachers for background information, although none were permitted by the school board to speak on record. I originally produced this story as a radio segment for the St. John’s Morning Show then developed it more fully online. The work was done intermittently over the course of three days. |
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Resources of the newsroom (money and time) available to complete the story: All three of these stories were produced with no additional funds over the course of one to five days. |
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