General News Feature

 

Winner: Jon Wells, Hamilton Spectator

Wells’ win in this category comes because his thoughtful, well researched and beautifully written submission defines news feature writing. He revisited a spot new story weeks after it took place and added depth and understanding to a tragic event.

The accidental death of a passionate animal rights activist killed while protesting outside a Burlington slaughterhouse offered him the opportunity to showcase his skills at both writing and reporting.

His piece was filled with fascinating research, intimate conversations with loved ones and clear-minded objectivity. The feature was rich in detail and colour, but also context and humanity.  A very well told story.

 

Runner-up: Liz Monteiro, Waterloo Region Record

It’s clear Liz is a reporter who has a gift for putting subjects at ease, drawing painful memories from them and producing empathetic, but not maudlin material to tell a story.

Her profile of murder victim Yvonne Umutoniwasi touches on many of the elements of great journalism.  Doggedness, in the year-long pursuit of a story; craftiness, in cultivating a trusting relationship with those around the story; and timeliness, in delivering a first-rate feature on the day of a murder sentencing.

This is just terrific reporting by someone who clearly knows a great story when she sees it, and how to get it.

 

Runners-up: Randy Richmond and Megan Stacey, London Free Press

To have produced a piece of work that was both compelling and important while covering  the largest public health crisis in history is a tribute to reporters Randy Richmond and Megan Stacey.

Their policy-altering work on the plight of London’s homeless population startled both their readers and civic officials into action. With clear writing and the wisdom to let those affected tell their stories, the Free Press “In Crisis” project gave a very disadvantaged segment of London’s population a loud voice.

 

Go to list of winners