The Narwhal takes home Webster award for excellence in multimedia journalism
Our data-driven, on-the-ground feature detailing the immense work of Indigenous guardians along the Central Coast of B.C. was recognized at the province’s top journalism event
As soon as the opportunity came up, Corey Hanuse joined the Wuikinuxv Guardian Watchmen. “I just felt like, ‘I have a job to do. This is what I’m here for.’ ”
Photo: Jimmy Thomson / The Narwhal
We are thrilled to share that reporter Jimmy Thomson’s feature detailing the ambitious, life-saving work of Indigenous guardians has won a 2022 Webster award for excellence in multimedia journalism. Thomson won the award Thursday evening at an event celebrating outstanding reporting across B.C.
Carol Linnitt, The Narwhal’s executive editor, said she’s grateful to see such an immense effort celebrated.
“The guardians feature was a new challenge for our team and while the endeavour always felt worthwhile and rewarding, having Jimmy’s piece recognized by our colleagues in this way makes the experience all the richer.”
The piece, more than two years in the making, began with a question: could we illustrate the scope of the work of guardians who are filling a monitoring and conservation gap?
The answer was yes. Thomson touched base with three nations along B.C.’s Central Coast, and they all collected plenty of data out on patrol.
“I asked the Heiltsuk, Wuikinuxv and Kitasoo/Xai’Xais if they would be willing to share that data, and, incredibly, they all did,” Thomson told me earlier this year. “I’m still blown away by that openness — try asking the Coast Guard or the Parks people for data sometime. I did, and, well, you didn’t see any in the story [from them], now did you?”
And so, with patrol data in hand, we got to work. Coupled with Thomson’s week-long reporting trip to Wuikinuxv territory, we told a story not just about the data, but about guardians who were reinforcing sovereignty and stewarding their traditional territories.
The finished feature has it all: layered and interactive maps, drone footage, video interviews, satellite imagery and good old-fashioned reporting and photography — a team effort to put together a piece that we hoped would do justice to the magnitude of the work these guardians are putting in, in such a vast and beautiful region.
Investigating problems. Exploring solutions
The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for a weekly dose of independent journalism.
Investigating problems. Exploring solutions
The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for a weekly dose of independent journalism.
“It can be difficult to explain how a single piece of journalism can take years to pull off. From generating ideas to planning travel during a pandemic to gathering datasets to building out new technical capabilities on a website — it takes a very dedicated team to produce an immersive multimedia feature like this,” Linnitt said.
“The Narwhal is supported by thousands of members who value high-quality journalism and I hope they celebrate this award win, too.”
The Narwhal’s award-winning feature was nominated alongside Global News’ data-driven look at how the pandemic changed B.C., as well as The Globe and Mail’s story on a highway that was wiped out by last year’s atmospheric river.
The Webster Awards are an annual celebration of outstanding B.C. journalism organized by the Jack Webster Foundation, which was created in the name of the longtime reporter after his retirement in 1986. All the winners from this year’s awards can be found here.
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As soon as the opportunity came up, Corey Hanuse joined the Wuikinuxv Guardian Watchmen. “I just felt like, ‘I have a job to do. This is what I’m here for.’ ”
Photo: Jimmy Thomson / The Narwhal
Threats to our environment are often hidden from public view.
So we embarked on a little experiment at The Narwhal: letting our investigative journalists loose to file as many freedom of information requests as their hearts desired.
In just six months, they filed a whopping 233 requests — and with those, they unearthed a veritable mountain of government documents to share with readers across Canada.
But the reality is this kind of digging takes lots of time and no small amount of money.
As many newsrooms cut staff, The Narwhal has doubled down on hiring reporters to do hard-hitting journalism — and we do it all as an independent, non-profit news organization that doesn’t run any advertising.
Will you join the growing chorus of readers who have stepped up to hold the powerful accountable?
Threats to our environment are often hidden from public view.
So we embarked on a little experiment at The Narwhal: letting our investigative journalists loose to file as many freedom of information requests as their hearts desired.
In just six months, they filed a whopping 233 requests — and with those, they unearthed a veritable mountain of government documents to share with readers across Canada.
But the reality is this kind of digging takes lots of time and no small amount of money.
As many newsrooms cut staff, The Narwhal has doubled down on hiring reporters to do hard-hitting journalism — and we do it all as an independent, non-profit news organization that doesn’t run any advertising.
Will you join the growing chorus of readers who have stepped up to hold the powerful accountable?
The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for a weekly dose of independent journalism.
Investigating problems. Exploring solutions
The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for a weekly dose of independent journalism.
As The Narwhal turns five, I’m thinking about the momentous outpouring of public generosity — a miracle of sorts — that’s allowed us to prove the critics wrong. More than 6,000 people just like you donate whatever they can afford to make independent, high-stakes journalism about the natural world in Canada free for everyone to read. Help us keep the dream alive for another five years by becoming a member today and we’ll mail you a copy of our beautiful 2023 print magazine. — Carol Linnitt, co-founder
As The Narwhal turns five, I’m thinking about the momentous outpouring of public generosity — a miracle of sorts — that’s allowed us to prove the critics wrong. More than 6,000 people just like you donate whatever they can afford to make independent, high-stakes journalism about the natural world in Canada free for everyone to read. Help us keep the dream alive for another five years by becoming a member today and we’ll mail you a copy of our beautiful 2023 print magazine. — Carol Linnitt, co-founder
