Congratulations to the winners of the 2011 CAJ Awards

TORONTO, April 28, 2012 /CNW/ - A reporting team from the Hamilton Spectator has won Canada's top investigative reporting award for the second year in a row.

Steve Buist and Teri Pecoskie won the Canadian Association of Journalists' Don McGillivray Award for their series titled, "BORN: A Code Red Project." It examined reams of public data on pregnancy and births and turned them into compelling articles, pictures and online content on just how well - or not - mothers and their children are faring across Ontario.

The duo were among 16 awards presented at the annual CAJ awards gala.

The recipient in most categories received a $500 cash prize. They were announced Saturday, at the CAJ Awards gala and conference banquet in Toronto, part of the 2012 CAJ conference at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.

Winning entries were presented by Global National anchor and executive editor Dawna Friesen who was the evening's MC. The inaugural jhr / CAJ Human Rights Reporting Award and the inaugural CWA Canada / CAJ Labour Reporting Award were also presented with thanks to each award's sponsoring partner.

The winner of the CWA Canada / CAJ Labour Reporting Award won $1,000 cash prize. The winner of the jhr / CAJ Human Rights Reporting Award won a $500 cash prize and will travel with jhr to one of its African project sites in the coming year. She will also be invited to the 2013 CAJ conference to share her experiences.

The Don McGillivray Award for the best 'overall' investigative report for 2011 was judged from the winners of the open newspaper / wire, community newspaper, open television (under 5 minutes), open television (over 5 minutes), magazine, open radio news / current affairs, regional television and CAJ / Marketwire CAR categories.

Please note that the media outlet listed is where the finalist worked at the time their entry was broadcast/published or where the particular entry was broadcast/published. Finalists are listed alphabetically by media outlet.

Investigative categories:

The winners in the OPEN TELEVISON (less than 5 minutes) category are:

Jorge Barrera and Kenneth Jackson
Barrera Carsons
APTN National News

The winners in the OPEN NEWSPAPER category are:

Steve Buist, Teri Pecoskie
Born: A Code Red project
Hamilton Spectator

The winner in the COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER category is:

Steve Bonspiel
Local tobacco giant busted
The Eastern Door (Khanawake)

The winner in the OPEN TELEVISION (greater than 5 minutes) category is:

Timothy Sawa, Diana Swain, Angela Gilbert
Scout's Honour
CBC - the fifth estate

The winner in the MAGAZINE category is:

Selena Ross
Getting Plowed
Maisonneuve Magazine

The winners in the REGIONAL TELEVISON category are:

Charles Rusnell, Grant Gelinas
Pork barrel politics
CBC Edmonton

The winners in the OPEN RADIO NEWS/CURRENT AFFAIRS category are:

Charles Rusnell, Grant Gelinas
Crown conduct
CBC Edmonton

The winners in the CAJ/Marketwire COMPUTER-ASSISTED REPORTING (CAR) category are:

Andrew McIntosh, Kinia Adamczyk
On mange bien à Terrebonne
QMI Agency

Excellence in journalism categories

The winner in the DAILY EXCELLENCE category is:

Kim Bolan
Bacon brother shot dead in Kelowna
Vancouver Sun

The winner in the PHOTOJOURNALISM category is:

Steve Russell
Portfolio entry
Toronto Star

The winner in the PRINT FEATURE category is:

Andrew Stobo Sniderman
Residential schools: Survivors share the pain
Montreal Gazette

The winners in the SCOOP category are:

Natalie Clancy and Manjula Dufresne
Broken Mounties
CBC Vancouver

The winner for the inaugural jhr / CAJ AWARD FOR HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTING is:

Alison Crawford
The eyes of Rosa and Antonio
CBC Radio One - Dispatches

The winner for the inaugural CWA CANADA / CAJ LABOUR REPORTING AWARD is:

Rachel Mendleson
Income inequality and the decline of unions
Huffington Post Canada

The winner for the CAJ/CNW STUDENT AWARD OF EXCELLENCE is:

Matt DiMera
Dismissed! Student association settles RAF lawsuit
The Runner, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, B.C.

Consistent with information in the entry package instructions, judges had the discretion to name between one and five finalists in each award category. There were a total of 107 journalists (individuals or team) who submitted a total of 126 entries for the 2011 awards program.

Congratulations to all our winners. Your work has been outstanding, inspiring and we thank you for entering

The Canadian Association of Journalists is a professional organization with around 600 members across Canada. The CAJ's primary roles are public-interest advocacy work and professional development for its members.

Hugo Rodrigues, CAJ president - 519-756-2020 ext. 2226, 519-535-8680 cell

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