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We’re thrilled to share that The Narwhal’s independent environmental journalism is once again turning heads on a national stage, earning two nominations from the Canadian Journalism Foundation and nine from the Digital Publishing Awards.
This week, the Canadian Journalism Foundation named northwest B.C. reporter Matt Simmons’ gorgeous feature on the healing power of fire as a finalist for the Award for Climate Solutions Reporting. And last week, the foundation nominated The Narwhal’s investigation into leaked recordings from TC Energy boardrooms, reported by Matt alongside former director of investigations and enterprise Mike De Souza and Ontario reporter Fatima Syed, for its prestigious Jackman Award for excellence in journalism.
Over at the Digital Publishing Awards, our hard-hitting investigations, stunning visual storytelling, impactful digital design and top-tier weekly newsletter have been recognized across multiple categories.
“Our team spends its days wading into complex data and documents, building trust with communities and finding ways to tell important stories in a way that’s beautiful and accessible,” managing editor Sharon J. Riley said. “Award nominations like these bolster the spirits of our whole team — from people thinking about words to visuals to audience outreach and more — and help us celebrate the incredible work The Narwhal produced this past year.”
In addition to these nominations, Narwhal co-founder Emma Gilchrist has won the Digital Publishing Leadership Award, described as “the highest individual honour the Digital Publishing Awards can bestow,” for her impressive career and critical role in boosting independent digital journalism at The Narwhal and across Canada.
Many people came together to create the journalism and digital products that earned these honours, some of which involved collaboration not just across the team but with other media organizations. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Toronto on Friday, June 13. Here’s a rundown of the Digital Publishing Award nominations:
Reporting by Julia-Simone Rutgers, produced by The Narwhal in collaboration with the Winnipeg Free Press, earned this recognition for delving into the ways climate change is wreaking havoc on ice roads in Manitoba, which are critical arteries in remote communities. The Free Press’s Scott Gibbons and The Narwhal’s Sharon J. Riley edited the story. Amber Bracken, Carrie Davis and Mikaela Mackenzie contributed photography.
Reporting by APTN News, CBC’s The Fifth Estate, Le Devoir, Radio-Canada, The Globe and Mail, The Tyee and CBC Radio’s What on Earth are also finalists in the category.
Reporter Jimmy Thomson and photojournalist Gavin John travelled across Montana and southern Alberta for three days to tell the story of Blackfoot Guardians who are working to revive herds of buffalo and the ancient traditions entwined with them. The Narwhal’s Michelle Cyca and Sharon J. Riley edited the story.
Also nominated for the best feature are stories from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador, Le Devoir, Radio-Canada’s Empreintes, The Globe and Mail and The Walrus.
In a moment when Alberta’s electricity grid was strained to its limit — and at the centre of political dealings — Prairies reporter Drew Anderson set out to answer some basic questions about what it is, how it works and why it matters. The resulting story, edited by Sharon J. Riley, is up for the award for the best service feature, alongside reporting from Radio-Canada Information, TD MoneyTalk Wealth and The Globe and Mail.
Reporter Emma McIntosh’s award-winning investigation into the Ontario Greenbelt scandal became the foundation for Paydirt, a podcast miniseries co-produced by The Narwhal and The Big Story. Along with McIntosh, the core production team also included showrunner Stefanie Phillips, lead producer Joe Fish and executive producer Jordan Heath-Rawlings. The Big Story’s Ryan Clarke, Chris Clark and Mary Jubran, as well as The Narwhal’s Denise Balkissoon, Mike De Souza and Arik Ligeti also contributed to the podcast series.
Podcasts by Cabin Radio, CBC, Novel, USG Audio, Pacific Electric, Kelly & Kelly, Savoir Média, The Global Reporting Centre and The Conversation Canada are also nominated in the category.
The Narwhal’s sparkling digital design, led by creative director Shawn Parkinson, caught the attention of the Digital Publishing Award judges. The nomination also includes director of audience Arik Ligeti, web developer Ashley Tam and the entire staff of The Narwhal for critical contributions to our digital storytelling.
CBC News Labs, Radio-Canada Information and The Globe and Mail are also finalists in the category.
The Narwhal is committed to telling ugly stories beautifully, so we’re excited to be nominated twice for the best photo storytelling.
Photojournalist Amber Bracken created a series of intimate portraits of the residents of Fort Chipewyan, Alta., who shared their worries and fears about life downstream from oilsands tailings ponds. The story, which is also nominated for a National Magazine Award, was supported with editing by Sharon J. Riley and digital design by Shawn Parkinson.
Over in Manitoba, photographer Tim Smith and reporter Julia-Simone Rutgers told the story of five Cree nations working together to conserve traditional lands, devastated by a legacy of hydroelectric dams. The story was a collaboration between The Narwhal and the Winnipeg Free Press, with contributions from Scott Gibbons, Sharon J. Riley, Shawn Parkinson and Mike Aporius.
Photojournalism by The Local, The Globe and Mail and The Walrus is also nominated in the category.
The Narwhal and IndigiNews joined forces to tell a special story in a very special way. Reporter and photographer Kayla MacInnis travelled the Buffalo road for eight days, through the homelands of several Indigenous nations that have begun rematriating bison on the plains. The resulting story was initially written and published in English, and later translated into nêhiyawêwin (Plains Cree) by Elder Dorothy Thunder from Little Pine First Nation in Treaty 6. Along with a written version including English translation, The Narwhal published an audio recording read aloud by Thunder.
Journalism by CBC News Labs, Radio-Canada’s Empreintes, Hakai Magazine, La Presse, The Globe and Mail, UBC Journalism and URBANIA have also been nominated for their innovative approaches to storytelling.
Last but certainly not least, The Narwhal’s weekly newsletter is once again on the shortlist for delivering the best journalism by email in Canada. Every Thursday, audience engagement editor Karan Saxena, director of audience Arik Ligeti, assistant editor Jacqueline Ronson and contributors across The Narwhal’s editorial team offer a peek behind the scenes of our environmental storytelling, boosted by beautiful design, attention to detail and (importantly) a lot of cute gifs. We were honoured to receive this award last year and are chuffed to find ourselves among an esteemed list of finalists against this year.
Newsletters by Broadview, Radio-Canada, the Literary Review of Canada, The Green Line and TLDR by Wealthsimple are also up for the award.
Get the inside scoop on The Narwhal’s environment and climate reporting by signing up for our free newsletter. On a warm September evening nearly 15...
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