CHEK News has won this year’s prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for best TV newscast in a small market outside the U.S. for its coverage of the Cameron Bluffs wildfire, which closed Highway 4 over the summer last year.
The newscast ran on June 8, 2023, just two days after the wildfire prompted the closure of Highway 4, which connects the Island’s western communities of Port Alberni, Ucluelet and Tofino with the rest of Vancouver Island.
CHEK News reporters covered the event from all angles, with Kendall Hanson at the site of the fire itself, while Skye Ryan travelled the arduous logging-road detour to get the mood of people trapped in the Port Alberni area.
Meanwhile, Mary Griffin was in Tofino and Ucluelet, while Rob Shaw covered the political ramifications of the natural disaster and road closure, and Andy Neal spoke on Coulson Aviation’s role, or lack thereof, in the wildfire.
The newscast also covered other events on the Island, like Saanich providing free menstrual products at its facilities – a move that was recently adopted by other municipalities on the Island – as well as the Upside guys Jeff King and Ed Bain covering the world’s largest inflatable obstacle course, which had been set up at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria.
The Edward R. Murrow Awards are among the most prestigious journalism awards in the world, and CHEK News won the best TV newscast award for the International Region, which includes every country outside the U.S.
The award-winning newscast can be watched below:
CHEK News
