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Last night, The Tyee’s northern reporter, Amanda Follett Hosgood, won a Webster Award in the category of Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Reporting for her series “70 Years after the Flood: Cheslatta’s Fight to Reclaim Its Territory,” which details the devastation a dam wrought in the 1950s — and the work being completed today to undo it.
“I thank the Cheslatta Carrier Nation and Saik’uz First Nation for being so generous with their stories and time,” Follett Hosgood said, “and my wonderful Tyee team for giving me the time and space to report on B.C.’s least known megaproject.”
The Webster Awards celebrate excellence in B.C.-based journalism in the public interest.
The Tyee nabbed a record eight Websters nominations this year, including Dorothy Woodend for “A Charm Bracelet, a Chandelier and Where Public Art Turns Dark,” Yuriy Umansky for “Escape from Crimea to Canada,” Jen St. Denis and Moira Wyton for “Psychosis. Then Gunshots from Police. Inside Dani Cooper’s Death,” Christopher Cheung for his series “Under the White Gaze,” Ben Parfitt for “Big Risks, Long Hours, Low Pay: The Lives of BC Log Truckers” and Francesca Fionda, Aldyn Chwelos, Gage Smith, Geena Mortfield, Michael Lo, Christina Gervais, Amber Bear, Emilie Wren, Sean Holman, Jen Osborne, Philip McLachlan, Andrew Munroe, Jens von Bergmann and David Beers, for their series “Bracing for Disasters.”
Follett Hosgood was also nominated alongside Katarina Sabados, Emma Gillies, Mashal Butt, the Global Reporting Program at UBC and the Global Reporting Centre for “Disaster Land Grabs Worldwide and in British Columbia.”
“We’re thrilled that Amanda’s work is being recognized by the Jack Webster Foundation. Her coverage of northern B.C. issues is invaluable in our pages and for the region,” said Tyee publisher Jeanette Ageson.
Tyee senior editor Paul Willcocks, who edited the three-part series by Follett Hosgood, said her reporting was remarkable as she researched the history of the project and the resulting devastation. She travelled with Cheslatta and provincial researchers exploring the reservoir and looking for ways to mitigate the damage, and met with Indigenous leaders and Rio Tinto, the current operators of the dam.
“It’s tough reading at times,” Willcocks said. “But hopeful, as Amanda reports on the nation’s effort to secure its future, from returning to traditional practices to developing its own businesses related to the dam operations.”
Willcocks noted that the salaries of Follett Hosgood and other Tyee staff are largely paid by thousands of readers called Tyee Builders, who contribute an average of $15 a month to cover costs for the non-profit organization.
“Tyee Builders let us have Amanda as a dedicated northern B.C. reporter and give our team the time needed to dig into complex stories and build trust,” he said.
Congratulations are also due to Sarah Amy Leung, who was a Read Mercer fellow at The Tyee earlier this year, and who received the 2023 Jack Webster Foundation BIPOC Student Journalism Award, presented by the BC Teachers’ Federation.
Thank you to our readers and supporters, in particular those who become Tyee Builders — your financial support enables us to do the work we do.
Here is a list of all winners of the Jack Webster Awards. ![[Tyee]](/design-article.thetyee.ca/ui/img/yellowblob.png){kind=small}
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