RTDNA Canada is set to recognize former APTN CEO Jean La Rose and CHEK TV reporter Tchadas Leo as part of its 2024 awards program.
La Rose is the recipient of this year’s President’s Award. Hailing from Abenaki First Nation in Quebec, La Rose assumed the helm of APTN in 2002. He left the network in 2019 to lead Dadan Sivunivut, a holding company established by APTN to manage a number of its subsidiaries, including the ELMNT FM radio stations in Ottawa and Toronto.
La Rose is also a member of the Canadian Journalism Collective, the non-profit awarded the Google Fund contract to help distribute funds to news organizations under the Online News Act.
“Jean’s commitment has benefitted the whole country,” said Lis Travers, President of RTDNA Canada, in an announcement. “Under his leadership, partnerships were established that continue to bring Indigenous stories and storytellers to a mainstream audience.”
He’ll receive the RTDNA Canada President’s Award at its National Awards Gala on Nov. 2 in Toronto.
CHEK TV multimedia journalist Tchadas Leo will receive the 2024 Emerging Journalist Award, awarded to a journalist who displays excellence in the coverage of enterprise journalism on a single topic, investigative reporting or continuing coverage of a beat or a major breaking and developing story.
A graduate of the BCIT Broadcast and Online Journalism program, Leo’s journalism career began with the launch of his award-winning Indigenous-focused podcast, Our Native Land. He’s been working with CHEK News in Victoria since 2021, covering a wide range of stories, often with a focus on Indigenous communities.
A descendant of the Xwemalhkwu or Homalco First Nation, north of Campbell River, BC, and the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians in Snohomish County, Washington, Leo became the first Coast Salish person to anchor a newscast on Coast Salish territory earlier this year. He was named the BC Association of Broadcasters (BCAB) Broadcast Performer of Tomorrow in May.
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