Toronto Star reporter Jesse McLean has been selected as the recipient of the 21st annual Hon. Edward Goff Penny Memorial Prize for Young Canadian Journalists.
McLean impressed the judges with a series of ambitious articles that ranged from local investigations to in-depth foreign reporting. His submissions saw him exposing nearly $2.5 million in unauthorized spending at City Hall, filing a dozen Freedom of Information requests to uncover the truth behind missing police weapons and gaining an exclusive interview with an imprisoned revolutionary in Kuwait as part of the Star’s Arab Awakening series.
In McLean’s entry package, Toronto Star politics editor Colin MacKenzie praised the 24-year-old reporter for his tenacity and his commitment to the field of journalism. “He has been a remarkable force in our newsroom since he arrived in August 2008…writing and reporting with sophistication and diligence.”
The annual awards program, administered by Newspapers Canada, provides for cash prizes of $1,500 to winners in two circulation categories, under 25,000 and over 25,000. The competition is open to journalists between the ages of 20 to 25 working for CNA-member daily newspapers.
The judging, which was based on works published in 2011, was done by three experienced industry professionals selected by Newspapers Canada. The judges did not award a prize in the 25,000 and under circulation category for the 2011 competition.
McLeanwill be awarded the Goff Penny Memorial Prize at a special luncheon event on Friday, April 27 during the INK+BEYOND conference in Toronto.
For more information about the Goff Penny Memorial Prizes for Young Journalists please contact info@newspaperscanda.ca.
