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Abbotsford News reporters honoured at Ma Murray community newspaper awards

Tyler Olsen and Dustin Godfrey bring home awards from industry awards night
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Abbotsford News reporter Tyler Olsen won gold in the Outdoor Recreation writing category for his piece on “How Sumas Mountain’s trails were saved” at the Ma Murray Community News Media Awards held Saturday night.

Two members of the Abbotsford News reporting team earned awards at the 2019 Ma Murray Community News Media Awards recently.

Tyler Olsen captured gold in the Outdoor Recreation Writing category for his piece entitled “How Sumas Mountain’s trails were saved.”

The judges said of Olsen’s story: “A very well researched and reported article on the efforts of several recreational groups to stop a proposed quarry on Sumas Mountain. Packed with information and tightly structured, this piece stands out with a strong lede and storytelling that connects readers to the issue from the perspective of the key sources involved.”

Olsen also received a bronze award in the John Collison Memorial Award for Investigative Journalism for his piece entitled “Skipping the bill.”

The judges had this to say about Olsen’s story: “Who knew? This reporting exposed a significant gap in Fraser Health Authority’s ability to recoup massive debts, for which taxpayers are ultimately on the hook.”

Reporter Dustin Godfrey picked up a silver award in the Feature Series Award category for his series entitled “Finding a way home.”

The judges had this to say about his submission: “The series identifier notes this is a well-worn topic and that the intent is to approach it from less-typical angles, which it does admirably. Individual stories examine issues from the homeless perspective, including the value of pets to mental and physical well-being, the limitations of homeless count methodology and the unique struggles faced by homeless couples.

“Colourful storytelling that delivers on the humanizing intent of the series takes readers into the lives of its homeless subjects as well as those of their biological and street families. Excellent work.”

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