Journalists Nick Dunne and Zak Vescera have been selected as the two recipients of the 29th annual Hon. Edward Goff Penny Memorial Prizes for Young Canadian Journalists.
In the small market category, reporter Nick Dunne won for his work with the Standard-Freeholder in Cornwall, ON.
His entry submissions included a variety of works including: a feature on the smoke dances that precede lacrosse games in Akwesasne and on Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, a frank look at the Cornwall Innovation Centre and its first two years of existence, a feature length two-part article on the loss of the last known Mohawk code talker Levi Oakes and a broader look at how the Mohawk language has been perceived, taught and used over generations.
In the large market category, reporter Zak Vescera won for his work with the Saskatoon-StarPhoenix, the Vancouver Sun and The Province.
His entry submissions included: a deep look at why Saskatchewan’s rate of HIV is twice the national average and why Indigenous people are persistently and disproportionately affected by it, a story which exposed a nationwide-plan to gather data on Canadians in advance of the federal election, a piece revealing the connection between a company owned by billionaire Chip Wilson, the founder of lululemon athletica, and the displacement of artists in East Vancouver and an article illustrating how a Saskatoon organization began operating an anonymous drop-off for newborn babies to support vulnerable mothers in the Saskatoon area after it was put on hold by the provincial government years prior.
To view the winning works from these outstanding journalists, visit: newsmediacanada.ca/goffpenny.
The Goff Penny Awards honour outstanding work published in daily newspapers by young Canadian journalists aged 20 to 25. News Media Canada thanks all of the young journalists and judges who participated in this year’s competition.
