The Michener Awards and Rideau Hall Foundations have announced they are awarding the inaugural Norman Webster Fellowships to Yellowknife-based digital news outlet Cabin Radio and Le Droit, covering Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais.

Valued at $125,000, each fellowship will provide the winning news organizations with the opportunity to produce a groundbreaking story, while offering early career journalists a chance to hone their craft.

The Norman Webster Fellowship honours the legacy of the late Norman Webster. Born in Summerside, P.E.I, Webster was a renowned foreign correspondent, columnist and editor of both The Globe and Mail and the Montreal Gazette. The award was launched earlier this year, in response to the closure of more than 500 local newsrooms over the last 15 years. It’s intended to amplify the ecosystems of small Canadian newsrooms, recognize their role in keeping communities connected, provide a diversity of voices and opinions, and maintain journalistic independence.

Cabin Radio will be investigating the circuit justice system in the Northwest Territories, while Le Droit will be doing a deep dive into chronic water issues in and around the national capital region.

“The competition for this new fellowship was steep, with close to 30 applications received and several common threads amongst them. Many sought to investigate contamination issues and inequalities around health care, education and housing. Most were about accountability and change,” said Margo Goodhand, President of the Michener Awards Foundation, in an announcement. “All were rooted in passion and the commitment each media outlet has for the people and community they serve.”

The Norman Webster Fellowships will be presented at an awards ceremony in Ottawa on June 5 at Rideau Hall, hosted by Governor General Mary Simon.