Finalists announced for CJF Jackman Excellence Award

TORONTO, April 23, 2024 /CNW/ - The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) is proud to announce its shortlists for the CJF Jackman Awards for Excellence in Journalism, honouring news organizations that embody exemplary journalism and have a profound positive impact on the communities they serve. Finalists are recognized in two categories: large and small media.

Through this prestigious award, the CJF has since 1996 recognized news organizations that embrace ideals of journalistic excellence – originality, courage, independence, accuracy, social responsibility, accountability and diversity.

"Last year, Canadian news organizations – large and small, new and old – provided their audiences with stories that helped shape both the country and its communities," says jury chair Christopher Waddell, professor emeritus at Carleton University's School of Journalism. "Our finalists have explored a broad range of subjects – climate, healthcare, governance, hate crimes, Indigenous issues, government scandals involving elections tampering, healthcare, COVID-19 spending, and land development.

"At a time when journalism and news organizations are being besieged from all sides about what they cover and how they cover it, it is encouraging to see the quality and depth of reporting all these stories feature -- ample evidence that despite the external pressures there remains a sound foundation for Canadian journalism to build on for the future."

The five finalists in the large media category (more than 50 full-time employees) and the stories and/or series shortlisted for the award are:

• The Canadian Press for a months-long investigation that revealed a toxic workplace culture in Canada's spy agency, including allegations of rape and harassment, challenges faced by whistleblowers in going public or seeking justice and a follow-up report that revealed that CSIS director David Vigneault called a town-hall meeting about the initial CP investigation. These articles provide a rare unauthorized look at the inner workings and culture of CSIS, one of Canada's most secretive organizations.
• Global News for an investigation into federal pandemic contracts that revealed that BTNX Inc., a Toronto-area business that received billions in federal funding for supplying 404 million COVID-19 tests to Canadian pharmacies, gave Health Canada incomplete data about the accuracy of its test kit.
• The Globe and Mail for its investigation into Chinese efforts to disrupt the 2021 federal election: CSIS documents reveal Chinese strategy to influence Canada's 2021 election; CSIS uncovered Chinese plan to donate to Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation and China views Canada as a "high priority" for interference: CSIS report.
• The Narwhal/Toronto Star for stories uncovering a "gold rush" as developers spent nearly $137 million after the Ontario government reneged on promises to protect the environmentally sensitive Greenbelt and revealing that developers attended the Premier's daughter's wedding and showing how The Narwhal pulled back the curtain on officials' schemes to push Greenbelt development forward despite ongoing opposition.
• The Winnipeg Free Press for The Inquest Files, reporting on two decades of inquests following fatal shootings involving Manitoba police, uncovering a pattern of delays, examining the barriers faced by one Anishnaabe family in order to participate in an inquest, exposing how expert witness testimony favours law enforcement and revealing judges' unwillingness to make tangible recommendations.

The five finalists in the small media category (fewer than 50 full-time employees) and the stories and/or series shortlisted for the award are:

• The Humber College StoryLab for Surviving Hate, a years-long collaborative journalism project about the paucity of data related to Canadian hate crimes and incidents, particularly regarding anti-Indigenous racism. Stories were published in Canada's National Observer about how anti-Indigenous racism was poorly tracked and harming patients in hospitals; the Toronto Star about how post-secondary institutions were addressing hate crimes and re-shaping curriculum and in a report card with TVOToday on how Canadian medical and nursing schools have implemented the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action related to Indigenous health issues.
  
  
  
  
• The Investigative Journalism Bureau and the Toronto Star for an investigation into patient survey data from Ontario hospitals, exploring the human cost of the healthcare system's crises: The Patient Files: What is it like for patients at your local hospital?; Ontario hospitals asked patients about the care they received. Results were kept secret — and pleas for change went ignored and Behind the curtain of Ontario's hospitals.
  
  
  
  
• The Montreal Gazette for a series highlighting the preventable nature of six deaths at the Lakeshore General Hospital emergency room and exposing how the West Island Health Authority covered up the circumstances surrounding these deaths: Staff haunted by suicide at the Lakeshore Hospital ER; Whistleblowers flagged deaths at Lakeshore ER multiple times and Premier "shielded" from harsh realities of Lakeshore ER, sources say;
  
  
  
  
• The Trillium for a series on the influence of land developers in Ontario politics. Articles in the series contributed to the government's decision to reverse its decision to open the Greenbelt to developers; showed the outcome of the Ontario government's close relationship with developers and used data to investigate the extent of developers' largesse in Greater Toronto Area municipal politics.
  
  
  
  
• The Tyee for Bracing for Disasters, a series using open data and interviews with experts and survivors, to demonstrate that evacuations in B.C. are now lasting weeks; that safety nets are not expanding accordingly; that Indigenous communities are among the hardest hit and that frontline workers and survivors face serious mental health trauma. The series comprises articles, interviews and an event focused on empowering communities to endure climate disasters.

All finalists' story submissions are available on our Awards page.

The winners will be announced at the CJF Awards ceremony on June 12 at the Royal York Hotel. For tickets, tables and sponsorship opportunities, see contact information below or visit the CJF Awards page.

The 2024 CJF Awards are generously supported by CIBC, Rogers Communications, Google News Initiative, Labatt Breweries of Canada, Canadian Medical Association, McCain Foods, MobSquad, Aritzia, BMO Financial Group, Intact, Sobeys, TD Bank Group, CBC/Radio-Canada, Canada Life, Scotiabank, Canadian Bankers Association, FGS Longview Communications, KPMG, RBC, Accenture, Aga Khan Development Network, Apple Canada News, The Balsillie Family Foundation, Bennett Jones LLP, Canadian Women's Foundation, CDPQ, Davies, Desjardins, Loblaw Companies Ltd., Maple Leaf Foods, Sunnybrook Foundation, Tom's Place, and The Woodbridge Company Ltd. In-kind sponsorship is provided by Bespoke Audio Visual, MLSE and Porter Airlines.

The CJF Jackman Award jury members are:

• Christopher Waddell (chair);
• Sonali Verma, deputy head of audience at the Globe and Mail;
• Manjula Dufresne, former producer, The National, CBC News Network;
  
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• Wendy Metcalfe, vice-president of content and editor-in-chief, Hearst Connecticut Media Group.

Cision is the exclusive distribution partner of the CJF.

About The Canadian Journalism Foundation

Founded in 1990, The Canadian Journalism Foundation promotes, celebrates and facilitates excellence in journalism. The foundation runs a prestigious awards and fellowships program featuring an industry gala where news leaders, journalists and corporate Canada gather to celebrate outstanding journalistic achievement and the value of professional journalism. Through monthly J-Talks, a public speakers' series, the CJF facilitates dialogue among journalists, business people, academics and students about the role of the media in Canadian society and the ongoing challenges for media in the digital era. The foundation also fosters opportunities for journalism education, training and research.

For sponsorship opportunities, contact Josh Gurfinkel, Director of Operations, The Canadian Journalism Foundation, jgurfinkel@cjf-fjc.ca.

http://www.cjf-fjc.ca

SOURCE The Canadian Journalism Foundation