LONDON, ON, Jan. 11 2021 /CNW/ - The COVID-19 pandemic brought sweeping changes to the way Canadians defined their places of work - if they were lucky enough still to have any work in 2020. Stress and isolation helped create or exacerbate a variety of mental health challenges, and much journalism focused attention on them.
The combination has the organizers of Canada's leading awards for mental health reporting in the workplace preparing for a flood of applications when the 2020 competitions open today. Provision has been made to allow independent juries more latitude in the number and value of awards in these exceptional circumstances.
The annual competitions for the Mindset Award for Workplace Mental Health Reporting, and its French counterpart le prix En-Tête pour le reportage en santé mentale au travail are offered by the Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma. Both awards are sponsored by Workplace Strategies for Mental Health, compliments of Canada Life, which serves as a source for journalists addressing the topic.
Each of the annual awards carries a first prize of $1,000, independently adjudicated. The Forum has adjusted its rules and general guidance to jurors this year to allow jurors discretion to recognize more than one runner-up with an Honourable Mention prize, and to increase the usual $250 cash component of those awards as appropriate. The deadline for applications is February 12.
"The pandemic wasn't the only factor involved in the field last year," said Forum president Cliff Lonsdale, "but it certainly dominated the agenda, and rightly so. Physical illness, isolation, deaths and economic hardships caused by the virus are one part of the story. But these came on top of the regular load of mental health issues associated with work. It all intertwines. These competitions are open to work that addresses any part, or all, of that."
"Stories told by journalists also inspired and motivated us to make the best of this difficult situation," said Mary Ann Baynton from Workplace Strategies for Mental Health. "Telling us about unsung heroes and organizations who prioritized the mental health of their employees through this pandemic shone a light on the best of humanity."
The third editions of the Mindset and En-Tete journalist-to-journalist guides were released late last year. The guides are editorially controlled by the Forum, with support from the Mental Health Commission of Canada and CBC News.
The pandemic has also cast doubt on how and when the Mindset and En-Tête Awards will be presented. They are normally included in annual awards galas held by the Canadian Association of Journalists and la Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec, typically in May.
"We have to wait and see what the COVID situation is in the spring," Lonsdale said, "and be guided accordingly. The big galas could be held later this year, our presentations could take place in a more restricted context, or they could be done virtually."
The Forum is an educational charity concerned with the physical and emotional wellbeing of journalists, their audiences and those on whom they report. Its work is supported by The Globe and Mail, CBC News, Radio-Canada and Cision.
Our thanks to Cision for supporting this announcement.
SOURCE Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma
Please see the Mindset website www.mindset-mediaguide.ca or contact Jane Hawkes, Executive Producer, Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma, 1-519 852-4946, [email protected]
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