Jenna Head and Gabrielle Piché have been selected as the recipients of the 33rd annual Hon. Edward Goff Penny Memorial Prize for Young Canadian Journalists.
In the small market category, multimedia journalist, Jenna Head who has written hundreds of stories that have helped inform readers and shape opinions won for her work published in the St. John’s Telegram. Her submission included an interview with a grieving mother who lost her son to drug addiction, the development of a housing crisis prompting unhoused residents to set up a tent city in protest and an old-fashioned love story of two long-lost lovers who reunited after more than six decades.
Jenna Head is a journalist from Newfoundland and Labrador. Formerly a reporter for The Telegram, Jenna is passionate about what affects our local communities and culture. She is known for her work on Newfoundland and Labrador’s housing crisis, addictions, and people-focused features. Jenna is committed to fair, ethical, and accurate reporting. She currently works for the CBC bureau in St. John’s.
Said Jennifer Vardy Little, Managing Editor of The Telegram:
“I’m absolutely thrilled to see Jenna receive this award. Over the past year, she’s shown incredible growth as a young journalist. She is a hard-working, compassionate reporter and I’m confident she’ll make a difference in our community as her career progresses.”
In the large market category, business reporter, Gabrielle Piché, has covered a wide range of stories for the Winnipeg Free Press where her dedication to writing continues to inform readers on important matters. Her submission included a look at rampant crime and how hard it is hitting shop owners both financially and emotionally, the controversial and unregulated Airbnb vacation market, the lack of safety protocols and dangerous travelling conditions for the bus lines in northern Manitoba and a story about the long-term succession challenges on farms.
Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Winnipeg Free Press. She wrote for newspapers in the Interlake and southern Manitoba before landing at the Free Press and completed her schooling at Red River College Polytechnic and the University of Winnipeg.
Said Scott Gibbons, Associate Editor of the Winnipeg Free Press:
“Gabrielle’s writing is fresh, informative and deeply researched. She combines an inquisitive nature and ability to analyze data to produce unique business stories, from hard news to long features, that matter to Manitoba readers.”
To view the winning works, visit: https://nmc-mic.ca/goff-penny-awards/goff-penny-awards-winners-2023/
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.
