Nov 4, 2022
Vancouver, BC - Langara College’s Journalism program was well represented at the 36th Annual Jack Webster Awards on Thursday, November 3, 2022. Langara alumni and instructors were nominated across several categories, and the winners were announced in an online, virtual ceremony last night.
Submissions were encouraged from print, radio/podcasts, television and online media sources that cover news, sports, the arts, business, community issues, and more.
Alumna Jennifer Thuncher, Editor, Squamish Chief, received the inaugural 2022 Shelley Fralic Award. Shelley Fralic (1953 – 2021) was a beloved journalist, Vancouver Sun columnist, and trustee of the Jack Webster Foundation. The Award honours a B.C. journalist who identifies as a woman, and who exemplifies Fralic’s legacy as someone concerned with excellence in journalism and making her community a better place. In choosing the recipient of the Fralic Award, judges considered both journalists early in their career as well as the seasoned journalist, and the impact the nominee has had through their commitment to journalism and to their community. Fralic herself was a recipient of the Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.
Gordon Hoekstra was part of the team that won Best Breaking News Reporting for their story B.C. Floods.
Madeline Green and Bridgette Watson joined a team from CBC Victoria who won Excellence in Health Reporting for their story A Crisis in Care: The Family Doctor Shortage in Greater Victoria.
Current Langara journalism student Jay Schnell was the recipient of a Student Journalism Award worth $2,000.
The Langara nominees (in bold), the categories in which they were nominated, and their stories are:
EXCELLENCE IN HEALTH REPORTING
A Crisis in Care: The Family Doctor Shortage in Greater Victoria
Jean Paetkau, Deborah Wilson, Kathryn Marlow, Madeline Green, Megan Thomas, Robyn Burns, Gregor Craigie, Bridgette Watson, Andrew Kurjata, Sterling Eyford and Rohit Joseph
CBC Victoria
BEST BREAKING NEWS REPORTING
B.C. Floods
Glenda Luymes, Tiffany Crawford, Sarah Grochowski, David Carrigg, Cheryl Chan, Gordon Hoekstra, Joanne Lee-Young, Susan Lazaruk, Richard Lam, Francis Georgian, Jason Payne, Mike Bell
Vancouver Sun and Province
Deadly Winters Hotel Blaze
Sarah Grochowski, Lori Culbert, Susan Lazaruk, Joe Ruttle, Stephanie Ip, John Mackie, Carolyn Soltau, Mike Bell, Nick Procaylo, Arlen Redekop, Jason Payne, Francis Georgian
Vancouver Sun & Province
BEST FEATURE/ENTERPRISE REPORTING – PRINT/ONLINE
SRO Tenants Have Lived with Broken Windows for Years
Jen St. Denis
The Tyee
EXCELLENCE IN DIVERSITY + INCLUSION REPORTING
Prosecuting Hate
Mike Hager, Ian Bailey, Chen Wang
The Globe and Mail
EXCELLENCE IN LEGAL JOURNALISM
Do police treat organized crime murders differently?
Kim Bolan
The Vancouver Sun/Postmedia
BEST COMMUNITY REPORTING
Princeton recovers from devastating floods
Casey Richardson and Chelsea Powrie
Castanet News
For a complete list winners and nominees, please visit the Webster Awards.
About the Webster Awards
Each year, journalists across BC are invited to enter their best work in a variety of categories with the goal of being the winner of the coveted Webster Award — the hallmark of journalistic excellence in British Columbia. Submissions are welcome from journalists that cover all aspects of news, subject to the eligibility requirements, in 14 categories. An esteemed jury that is completely separate from the Foundation’s board of directors reviews all submissions and the three finalists in each category are announced each fall. An awards event takes place later in the fall when the winners of each category are announced.
About snəw̓eyəɬ leləm̓ Langara College
Located in beautiful Vancouver, BC, Canada, snəw̓eyəɬ leləm̓ Langara College provides University, Career, and Continuing Studies education to more than 23,000 students annually. With more than 1,700 courses and 130 programs, Langara’s expansive academic breadth and depth allows students of all ages, backgrounds, and life stages to choose their own educational path. Langara is also known as snəw̓eyəɬ leləm̓, a name given to it by the Musqueam people on whose unceded traditional territory the College is located.
Learn more.
Mark Dawson
Manager, Public Affairs
604.323.5702
mdawson@langara.ca
PHOTO: Jennifer Thuncher, Editor, Squamish Chief