Several Mount Royal University journalism students have won national recognition for their reporting.
Five current and recent MRU journalism students are among this year’s Canadian Student Journalism Awards winners, which recognize “excellence, innovation, and leadership among emerging journalists across the country.”
“I was shocked, honestly. I knew the project was an exceptional collection of reporting, but being chosen from all the J-School group projects in Canada was astonishing,” said Bella Coco, whose reporting with Acacia Carol, Sarah Palmer and Mia Smith about medically assisted dying won Student Group Project of the Year.
“I feel really grateful. To be professionally recognized at a national level for a story that took so many months of collaborative effort and grit has me feeling really grateful for my group mates, my sources, and the support from my professor, Patricia Edgar,” added Coco in an email interview with the Calgary Journal.
MRU journalism wins Story of the Year and honourable mention
Julianna Adair, a fourth-year MRU journalism student, won Story of the Year for her fact-checking of Alberta Premier Smith’s claims about puberty blockers for the Calgary Journal.
“It feels so affirming to have your hard work be recognized in this way,” Adair told the Calgary Journal in an email interview.
PHOTO: CALGARY JOURNAL STAFF
Adair says she wanted to fact-check Smith’s claims because she “saw a lot of conversations happening about trans youth and their families, without including them in the conversation.”
“I wanted to simply translate the reality of restricting gender-affirming care in a way that was factual and clear, while incorporating informed perspectives,” added Adair.
“With the endless amount of content accessible to all of us at any time, I think fact-checking is playing an increasingly important role in how we interpret the world and community around us,” wrote Adair in her email response to the Calgary Journal’s question.
Recent MRU journalism graduate Sarah Palmer — who now reports as the local journalism initiative reporter with Calgary-based Live Wire — received an honourable mention for her Calgary Journal story about workplace violence at Calgary Transit.
Learning more than just reporting
Coco, who edits MRU student newspaper, the Reflector, says she learned more than how to report a complicated story such as medically assisted dying.
“This reporting process really taught me the importance of patience,” said Coco. “Not just patience for my sources, but patience for myself and my groupmates as well. This story required a lot of research and trust, which meant hours of preparation and pre-interviews for every source to ensure they felt comfortable and heard by us. It really cemented the importance of ethical reporting for me.”
The awards, which are free to enter, are judged by media professionals and teachers from across the country. The jury evaluates the reporting on its “originality, impact, technical execution, and contribution to public understanding.”
Read the award-winning work:
Calgary transit union wants ‘epidemic’ of abuse stopped
Fact-checking Alberta Premier Smith’s claims about puberty blockers