The Michener-Richard O’Hagan Fellowship for Journalism Education has been awarded to TVO journalists Sarah Trick and Alanna King along with TVO and Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication to create a style guide for journalists covering disabilities.
Trick, who is based in Ottawa, graduated from Carleton’s Master of Journalism program in 2016. During the fellowship she will spend time at Carleton so that she can interact with Carleton journalism students, faculty and staff members as she and King work to develop the style guide.
The goal is to create a one-of-a-kind style guide suited to the Canadian news and media landscape: “A guide to help journalists and journalism students cover disabilities thoughtfully, accurately and with nuance.”
Photo of Sarah Trick from LinkedIn
“I’m delighted to be working with TVO and Carleton University to improve journalistic coverage of disability throughout the field,” Trick said. “To me, there could be no better educational partner: I have benefited from Carleton’s commitment to disability inclusion and to diversity as a student, and the professionalism, rigour, dedication, and compassion of the School of Journalism’s faculty continue to influence my journalistic practice to this day.”
Trick said that she and King want the curriculum they develop to be a resource to journalists and students of all ages and skill levels “to help us all tell deeper, richer, and most importantly, truer stories about disability.”
According to a press release from the Michener Awards Foundation, the Michener jury “felt that disability is often an unseen factor, despite the fact that Statistic Canada estimates one in five Canadians have a disability.”
Photo of Alanna King from LinkedIn
In their submission, Trick and King wrote that: “Journalists are not and should not be activists, but they do have the responsibility to accurately reflect the communities they cover and live in.” The style guide will be easily accessible and easily updated as it will be in a digital format.
The Michener release noted that Sarah Trick, the lead journalist on this project, is a multiply-disabled, neurodivergent digital media producer at TVO. Her work has appeared in The Walrus, CBC and TVO. Alanna King brings her rich teaching and instructional designer experience to the project. She is also employed at TVO.
Michener fellowship recipients are traditionally honoured at an annual ceremony at Rideau Hall, hosted by the Governor General of Canada, which ultimately unveils the winner of the prestigious Michener Award for public service journalism in Canada.
This year, after two years of virtual ceremonies due to the global pandemic, the ceremony will be held live at Rideau Hall on June 16, 2023 (date subject to change based on the Governor General’s special responsibilities).
The Michener – L. Richard O’Hagan Fellowship for Journalism Education, supported by BMO Financial Group, is dedicated to the advancement and enrichment of the education of Canadian journalists and journalism students. It is named for the late L. Richard O’Hagan, distinguished press secretary to Prime Ministers Lester B. Pearson and Pierre Trudeau and long-time senior vice-president at Bank of Montreal. He began his career as a reporter at the former Toronto Telegram. Winning projects are designed to expand the knowledge of newsroom products, processes and practices.
Thursday, April 20, 2023 in Journalism News, News
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