Regulatory, Telecom & Media News –

Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) and Canadian not-for-profit Aman Lara say they’ve been able to evacuate close to 2,000 Afghan journalists, interpreters, and human rights defenders with the support of private donations. Approximately 700 of those are now permanently resettled in various countries, including Canada. The organizations say since the Taliban takeover in August of last year, travel has become almost impossible. They’ve issued a call for donations as they prepare to move another 500 Afghans, with the support of the Canadian government. 

The Michener Awards Foundation has announced the finalists for the 2021 Michener Award for meritorious public service journalism. This year’s finalists are: CBC News for the Fifth Estate investigation into Peter Nygard; CBC Saskatchewan for reporter Geoff Leo’s investigation into the Indigenous ancestry claims of Canadian Institutes of Heath Research Director, Dr. Carrie Bourassa; CBC Saskatoon and The Globe and Mail for their work on residential schools, Catholic Church assets and survivor payouts; Global News for its work to expose sexual misconduct among top military commanders; Kamloops this Week for pursuing spending misconduct within Thompson-Nicola Regional District; and The Globe and Mail for its reporting on athletes and eating disorders.

The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) has announced the shortlist for the annual CJF Award for Climate Solutions Reporting celebrating a working journalist or team shining a spotlight on climate change and innovative solutions. The five finalists for the $10,000 prize are: Joel Balsam and photojournalist Stephanie Foden for their Globe and Mail report on an Innu band council and regional municipality’s attempt to declare Quebec’s Magpie River a legal person; the team behind CBC Radio series What on Earth for stories highlighting the human and natural costs of rising emissions; The Globe and Mail’s team of climate journalists, including Ryan MacDonald, Kathryn Blaze Baum, Jeffrey Jones and Adam Radwansk; the team behind CBC’s The Doc Project podcast for “Big Tree Hunt,” an episode exploring the issue of ancient tree logging in B.C.; and the National Observer’s Race Against Climate Change miniseries, which included Shaghayegh Tajvidi, Polly Leger and Linda Solomon Wood. 

Renée Lilley and Erin Blondeau are the recipients of this year’s CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowships, which provide two early-career Indigenous journalists with the opportunity to explore issues of interest while being hosted for one month at the CBC News Indigenous Unit in Winnipeg. Lilley, a Red River Métis from Portage la Prairie, MB is a reporter and producer with CBC Indigenous. She plans to explore the issue of who should officially represent the Métis nation on a national level –the Métis National Council or the Manitoba Métis Federation. Blondeau, from the Métis Nation of British Columbia (MNBC) and the Cowichan Valley Métis Nation, is a writer and researcher at MNBC and communications coordinator with Indigenous Climate Action. She plans to work on a series expanding on a 2021 University of Toronto study that found higher levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in homes located near natural gas wells in B.C.’s Peace River Region. 

Western Association of Broadcasters (WAB) 86th Annual Conference, taking place in Banff, Alberta at the Fairmont Banff Springs, June 8-9, will be welcoming CRTC Chair Ian Scott, alongside other commissioners, who’ll provide an update to members on the commission’s activities, in addition to an informal meet-and-greet following the conference. Find further details on the golf tournament, speakers lineup and registration at wab.ca. Organizers say Banff is going to be very busy in June, so don’t delay booking your hotel room.