EDUCATION WRITING

Stephen Cogan

Stephen Cogan is a proud alumnus of community newspapers in the Upper Ottawa Valley. He’s also been a writer and editor at the Kingston Whig-Standard, CBC News in Toronto and NBC News in New York. He co-manages the journalism programs at Centennial College in Toronto.

First Place

Manitoulin Expositor

The Manitoulin Expositor: Dance your way through school – This was a crisp, engaging feature about an innovative program that shows early signs of success in promoting student retention. Clearly local high schoolers face some unique challenges; it’s encouraging to discover a unique effort being made to address that... and encouraging to see the community’s newspaper picking up on it. The writing was lively. The sources included not only the adults involved, but the students. I might have preferred the students’ input to be higher in the story, and I do think the Expositor’s traditional layout is constraining... but this was an inspiring story. Congratulations to reporter-photographer Lindsay Kelly.

Third Place

Second Place

GEorGEtown/ acton indEpEndEnt & FrEE prEss

Georgetown/Acton toronto

Independent and Free Press: Battling bullying – This feature represented a delicate balancing act, pulled off by Eamonn Maher. There’s a tendency toward “promotional” reporting of the things that schools are doing.

But while Eamonn relays the encouraging signs around these anti-bullying workshops, this reporter-photographer also acknowledges the problems this particular community school has had with bullying. And there’s something else here that’s rarely seen in this kind of education reporting: the first quote is from a student, and students fairly share the space in the story with the adults around them. (Often reporters rely on information – including quotes – from educators... sometimes without even appearing to consult the young people involved.) My only significant quibble: a competent but lacklustre design and layout. Overall, well-done!

rivErdalE

- East York town criEr

Toronto RiverdaleEast York Town Crier: Fewer yawns, better grades – Reporter Alex Keshen’s feature distinguishes itself in a couple of ways. First, she’s following up after a program has been instituted to try to fairly assess its fallout (we reporters tend to breathlessly announce innovations... and then walk away in search of something else that’s new). Second, she’s not shy about describing the negative impact that late-start high school has had for some (contrary to the tendency to paint every school innovation in a rosy hue). Finally, Alex allows students to share the stage – in terms of quotes and other material – with teachers. The writing and layout are both clean (although I would have preferred mugshots of some of the people quoted – rather than a generic ‘clock-shot’). Generally, good job.

GEnEral coMMEnt – You might think that after reviewing the 56 entries in this category, I would be drained. On the contrary, I feel refreshed and encouraged after seeing so many high-quality examples of community newspaper reporting, photography, editing and design around an important topic like education. Congratulations to all of the newsrooms across the province committed to important, grassroots, issues-oriented journalism.

Sponsored by Ontario Journalism Educators Association