Globe and Mail columnist Gary Mason accepts the 2010 Jack Webster award for commentary. Mr. Mason has been a national affairs columnist for The Globe and Mail since 2005 and will receive the Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award.The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is up for four honours at British Columbia's premier journalism awards – the newspaper's strongest showing since launching a separate British Columbia edition a decade ago.
Globe journalists have been named finalists in three categories, and columnist Gary Mason will receive a lifetime achievement award at the Jack Webster Awards banquet in Vancouver on Nov. 4.
"This has been a year of delivering determined journalism and we have been rewarded by being nominated in vitally important categories," said Editor-in-Chief David Walmsley.
"Serious journalism, confronting the hard questions and showing the alternative ways we can tell those stories: That is what we do. Vancouver is The Globe and Mail's largest bureau outside of Toronto and I know from all the feedback we receive from British Columbians that they appreciate our commitment. On a personal note, I am very pleased to see our brave columnist Gary Mason being rightly recognized for his commitment to telling the truth."
Presented by the Jack Webster Foundation, named after a long-time radio and television broadcaster, the awards recognize the work of B.C.-based journalists in print, radio, television and online.
Mr. Mason, who will receive the Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award, began his journalism career in 1981 as a summer intern for The Canadian Press, and later worked in various roles for the Victoria Times-Colonist and The Vancouver Sun, where he worked for 19 years. He has been a national affairs columnist for The Globe and Mail since 2005. Mr. Mason has won two National Newspaper Awards and six Jack Webster Awards, including Commentator of the Year in 2010.
Mr. Mason is also a finalist for Best Feature Story – Print for a groundbreaking series of columns about the decline of the B.C. Cancer Agency, one of the province's most cherished institutions. The quick resignations of two consecutive presidents led him to discover deep-seated problems that had been festering for more than a decade. The columns broke major news and made headlines around the medical world, setting off heated exchanges in the provincial legislature.
For Best News Reporting of the Year – Print, The Globe was named a finalist for its coverage of a spill that saw thousands of litres of heavy fuel oil leak into Vancouver's Burrard Inlet from the MV Marathassa, soiling birds, threatening sea life and staining the city's prized beaches. Almost immediately, the incident also raised serious questions about the federal government's ability to clean up marine spills in a province that is debating the future of oil pipelines and increased tanker traffic.
The Globe's work on the file included an inside look at how the cleanup unfolded, coverage of the uncomfortable fingerpointing between the city, the province and Ottawa, the debate about what exactly constitutes a "world-class" spill response, a story that cast doubt on the Coast Guard's public defence of its own response, and previous concerns among U.S. officials about Canada's ability to clean up a spill. The team up for the award includes Justine Hunter, Sunny Dhillon, Gary Mason, Mike Hager and Stanley Tromp.
Ms. Hunter is also a finalist for Excellence in Digital Journalism for a feature about a project that has seen aboriginal people partner with Google to map out their heritage using Google Earth. The story, which was accompanied by photos, a map and video, reveal how First Nations members and anthropologists with the University of Victoria hope the technology would allow them to connect with aboriginal youth and non-aboriginals, as well as bolster outstanding land claims.