Students at the UBC Graduate School of Journalism have received two prestigious 2011 Canadian Online Publishing Awards.
Natalie Dobbin and Kendall Walters won the gold award in the best video/multimedia category for their story on the revival of the Musqueam language through hip-hop.
Students were also recognized with a silver award for best online-only article/series for stories written for the school’s student website, TheThunderbird.ca, as part of a class project that looked at aging. Lisa Hale and Carrie Swiggum examined the challenges for Canada’s prisons as its inmates get older, while Lena Smirnova profiled Tsarist Russians in the city, and Kate Adach told the life-affirming story of a twice-widowed centenarian.
Launched in 2009, the Canadian Online Publishing Awards recognize Canada’s best online editorial and design work in publication websites. The winners were chosen by independent judging panels of highly regarded industry professionals and experts.
Award nominations
The school received three other nominations. Student Jamie Williams was up for best online-only article/series for his report on how social media was providing a lifeline to victims of the last year’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
The school’s International Reporting Program web project, “Cheap Shrimp, Hidden Costs”, was a finalist in the best online-only site. “Cheap Shrimp, Hidden Costs” showcases a year-long reporting project on the social and environmental impact of intensive shrimp farming.
For this project, ten students in the International Reporting class traveled to Thailand, the largest supplier of shrimp to North America. Prof. Klein was the lead producer, along with co-instructors Trisha Sorrells Doyle and Dan McKinney. Prof. Alfred Hermida was the web project supervisor.
Prof. Hermida’s blog on digital media trends, Reportr.net, was a finalist for the best blog award. He won the award in the 2010 Canadian Online Publishing Awards.
All of the awards and nominations were in the Blue category; business to business, professional association, and university.
