Our reporters spend a lot of time and effort putting together the news stories that we hope make The Western Producer a valuable addition to your information toolbox.
The satisfaction of a job well done is usually enough to make the effort worthwhile, but it’s always nice to get a bit of extra recognition.
I’ve always made an effort as news editor to let reporters know when they’ve turned in a particularly strong story, but it never gets done enough.
The pace can be hectic, and the verbal “pats on the back” can become few and far between. It’s one of the areas in which I continually strive to improve.
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But while I struggle with my professional development goals, another institution can be counted on to step in and fill the void: the writing awards.
Western Producer journalists are always cleaning up in these competitions, and the one recently offered by the Canadian Farm Writers Federation was no exception.
Our staff brought home a bundle of trophies (more on that in a moment), but this year’s highlight was farm management editor Michael Robin being named Reporter of the Year.
It’s quite the honour, and we’re all tickled pink for Michael.
The award was earned largely by his first place finishes in two writing categories: technical feature and business/economics reporting.
The winning technical feature was a piece on an international private-public canola research consortium, while the win in business/economics reporting was for a story on the risk to farmers posed by oil well boreholes.
But these weren’t our only awards.
Regina reporter Karen Briere won gold in the current affairs feature category for her story on the Sattler family and their 10-year journey to pass the farm to the next generation.
Winnipeg reporter Ed White took silver in opinion writing for his AgriCulture column about the role farming has played in settler-First Nation relations in this country.
Ron Lyseng of Winnipeg took bronze in the communication short category for a small but information-packed package about pneumatic systems, while Robin Booker finished third in the current affairs feature category for a story about precision spraying.
And Saskatoon reporter and photographer William DeKay took silver in people photography for his image of folks showing cattle.
