Reporter Julia-Simone Rutgers has been selected as the recipient of the 32nd annual Hon. Edward Goff Penny Memorial Prizes for Young Canadian Journalists.
Rutgers, who works for the Winnipeg Free Press and the Narwhal jointly as part of a unique journalism partnership which is funded by the Winnipeg Foundation, is solely devoted to telling environmental stories through a climate change lens, both in Winnipeg and around Manitoba.
Julia-Simone impressed the judges with through deep investigations, compelling writing, and long features with complex narratives. Her stories focused on climate change impacts — from a composting pilot project, to the urgency to protect the city’s dwindling tree canopy, to the possibility of geothermal energy pumping new life into aging arenas.
You can read a sampling of her work here, here, here, and here.
Said Scott Gibbons, Associate Editor of the Winnipeg Free Press:
“The spotlight on urgent environmental matters in Manitoba has never been brighter. Rutgers is helping Manitobans gain a great understanding of their rapidly evolving world.”
The judges did not award a prize in the 25,000 and under category for the 2023 competition.
The Hon. Edward Goff Penny Memorial Prizes honour outstanding work published in daily newspapers by young Canadian journalists aged 20 to 25. The awards are made possible by the estate of the late Arthur G. Penny, a former newspaper editor with the Quebec Chronicle. News Media Canada thanks the young journalists and judges who participated in this year’s competition.
