Alumni, faculty and a student lead the nominations for the 2024 Jack Webster Awards.
They have received 16 nominations across seven of the 16 categories of the Websters, which recognize excellence in journalism across British Columbia.
They are acclaimed for their outstanding journalism in categories including environment, business, legal reporting, and innovative journalism.
The finalists include first-year graduate student Kristen de Jager, who is nominated for her contribution to an article in The Tyee on the threat of wildfires to tree planters.
Adjunct faculty received nominations in various categories. Francesca Fionda is a finalist in business reporting, J.B. MacKinnon in feature writing, Jimmy Thomson in environment reporting, Stephanie Kwetásel’wet Wood in innovative journalism. Thomson and Wood are also alums of the Master of Journalism program.
The Webster Awards, one of the most coveted honours in journalism in B.C., are considered a benchmark for top-tier reporting in the province.
The winners will be announced at the 38th Webster Awards ceremony in Vancouver on October 28th.
List of UBC Journalism nominees:
Best News Reporting of the Year — Print/Digital
- Katie Hyslop — Exclusive: Audit Reveals Major Failures in MCFD Region Where Boy Died (The Tyee)
Best News Reporting of the Year — TV/Video
- Michelle Ghoussoub, Lien Yeung, Jon Hernandez, GP Mendoza — 2023 B.C. Wildfire Community Coverage (CBC Vancouver)
Excellence in Feature Reporting — Print/Digital
- J.B. MacKinnon — In Defense of the Rat (Hakai Magazine)
Excellence in Innovative Journalism
- Akshay Kulkarni, Arrthy Thayaparan — They Lived, They Were Loved, Then Suddenly They Were Gone: Stories of Lives Lost to Toxic Drugs (CBC Vancouver)
- Stephanie Kwetásel’wet Wood, Lindsay Sample — Nourish: How First Nations Are Bringing Food Sovereignty Back to the Table (The Narwhal)
Excellence in Business Reporting
- Kristen de Jager — Choked Out: The Wildfire Threat to Tree Planters (The Tyee + the Climate Disaster Project)
- Francesca Fionda, Lindsay Sample — B.C. is millions short on cleanup cost for mines (The Narwhal, The Globe and Mail)
Excellence in Legal Journalism
- Kallan Lyons, Lauren Kaljur, Jacqueline Ronson — The Buried History of Tranquille (The Wren)
Excellence in Environment Reporting
- Jimmy Thompson — Tragically, BC Ignored Lessons of 2009’s Killer Heat Wave (The Tyee + the Climate Disaster Project)
- GP Mendoza, Megan Stewart — Parks and Reclamation: How First Nations in B.C. are taking back control of stewardship and access in their traditional territories (CBC British Columbia)
