AJAs 2017 Finalists
Attachments
| Slug/Label | St. Stephen state of emergency |
|---|---|
| Date Aired or Published | Dec. 4-9, 2023 |
| Media outlet where first aired or published: | Telegraph-Journal |
| Name of Program: | |
| If co-produced, list partner: | Barbara Simpson |
| Location: | Saint John & Fredericton |
| List awards, grants: | Local Journalism Initiative |
| Running time (TV/Radio): | |
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Short explanation of the story and how it developed: On the night of Dec. 4, my phone went off: an emergency alert for St. Stephen over homelessness. Stories written over the previous months by Barbara Simpson and myself had set the stage: local groups had offered options for an out-of-the-cold shelter, no word had come from the province, the calendar flipped over to December. The motion passed by council offered a fatal detail: a man had died two days earlier after being found in a park. My breaking story about the city's motion was combined with the reaction from the legislature for print, and when the man's name was spoken in the legislature, I tracked down his family, who told me that I was only the first person to call after the RCMP. I painted the picture of his difficult life and tragic death using interviews and court records, and turned it around the same day. Then, after the announcement of a drop-in centre after 4 p.m. Friday, I was able to quickly file a story about action at the end of a week of crisis. |
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Resources of the newsroom (money and time) available to complete the story: My work, covering civic affairs in Charlotte and Kings Counties, is funded as a part of the Local Journalism Initiative. I continued to file stories for both counties as well as Saint John during the week. I was also supported by colleagues in Fredericton, including Barbara Simpson, John Chilibeck and Andrew Waugh, who asked questions in scrums and sent interview clips. |
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