Postmedia wins National Newspaper Awards, including Journalist of the Year

Postmedia Network journalist Aaron Beswick, a reporter at the Chronicle Herald in Halifax, has been named journalist of the year by the prestigious National Newspaper Awards, one of two Postmedia winners at a gala ceremony Friday night. Beswick, who was also the winner of the E. Cora Hind Award for Local Reporting, was honoured for his coverage of lawlessness in Nova Scotia’s lobster and eel fisheries. “He shed light on a topic that is important to the industry, Canadians nationwide and internationally,” the award judges said. That award is meant to recognize such extraordinary journalism that it deserves further recognition. Judges selected Beswick’s work as a stand-out among the 16 winning works submitted by one or two journalists. “Some stories are simply unforgettable, some journalists beyond exceptional,” the National Newspaper Awards says in its explanation of the award. Beswick was joined as an award winner by Postmedia journalist Brandon Harder of the Regina Leader-Post, for his intensive telling of the story where police went undercover to get Joe Thauberger to confess to the murder of his brother. Harder won the William Southam Award for Long Feature. “Our strength has always been rooted in our deep connection to communities across the country, with our organization being almost entirely focused on local reporting, so I’m gratified to see the recognition for Brandon Harder of the Regina Leader-Post and Aaron Beswick of The Chronicle Herald in Halifax,” said Duncan Clark, Postmedia’s chief content officer. “Aaron being chosen as Journalist of the Year is also a wonderful representation of the commitment from all our teams in Atlantic Canada that made our recent acquisition there so important.” Michael de Adder, a freelance cartoonist whose nomination included work for the Chronicle Herald, received the editorial cartooning award. Multiple other Postmedia journalists received nominations for their work. “We are immensely proud of all our nominees and congratulate our deserving winners tonight,” said Clark. “It’s no mistake that the common thread in all the nominations from Postmedia’s products is how they speak to our mission to bring Canadians together through informed, meaningful journalism. The Calgary Herald and Calgary Sun jointly received three nominations. The Financial Post, Vancouver Sun/The Province, Ottawa Citizen/Ottawa Sun and Saskatoon StarPhoenix also all received nominations. Naimul Karim, of the Financial Post, was nominated in the business reporting category for his coverage of Canada’s changing immigration laws and the way they are affecting thousands of foreign workers. At the Calgary Herald, cartoonist Patrick LaMontagne was nominated for his editorial cartoons. Jim Wells, a long-time Calgary photographer, was nominated for best news photo for his stunning shot of people trying to rescue a deer that had fallen through the ice of the Bow River. The Calgary Herald/Calgary Sun was also nominated for the John Honderich Award for Project of the Year for its “Squeezed” series, which looked at the rising cost of living and how it’s affected Calgarians. Kim Bolan, a veteran crime reporter at the Vancouver Sun/The Province, was nominated for the Norman Webster Award for International Reporting. Bolan reported from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Southeast Asia, detailing the reach of B.C.’s criminal organizations. In the local reporting category, which Beswick won, Julia Peterson at the Saskatoon StarPhoenix had also been nominated, for her extensive coverage of the two inquests into the James Smith Cree Nation mass killings. And in the sports reporting category, Ken Warren and Tony Caldwell at the Ottawa Citizen/Ottawa Sun were nominated for their feature about an Ottawa man who cuts a hole through the ice so he can hop in for a daily swim. The awards were announced at a gala Friday evening in Montreal. The NNAs received 864 entries from 82 publications across Canada for the 2024 iteration of its awards. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.