Kevin Goodger awarded JHM prize for Climate Reporting
Just months after joining the team at The Dialog, Reporter-Editor, Kevin Goodger walked away with a Canadian University Press (CUP) award in the category of Climate Reporting, for his article: Wild weather not about to get better.
The prestigious honour, titled the John H. McDonald (JHM) Award, recognizes outstanding work in student journalism at college and university presses across Canada. The Dialog is a CUP member.
The award was presented on Jan. 5 at NASH, an annual gathering of student journalists organized by CUP which was this year held in Calgary.
The winning article written by Goodger highlighted growing concerns around climate change and its recent effects on Toronto, including the flash flooding on Aug. 7, 2018 that caused damages to property across the city.
George Brown College’s (GBC) Waterfront and St. James campuses were affected, which brought some classes to a halt for several days.
“I was actually caught in the rainstorm that day, and I remember it was the most rain I’d ever seen in my life,” Goodger said on how he initially got the idea for the article.
The student journalist was also inspired by the winter of 2018, citing that the freezing cold and ice storms inspired him to think about the wild weather Toronto has experienced.
According to Goodger, a key factor in his win at the JHM Awards was being able to speak to Jim Baxter, the director of the City of Toronto’s environment and energy division.
Goodger stated that Baxter is “the guy to talk to,” when it comes to climate change and what the City of Toronto is doing about it.
Baxter provided essential information on evolving climate trends and why the weather was acting up.
Although he is a digital media marketing student at GBC, Goodger has been writing since he was a child and recalled performing well in English courses.
However, prior to working for The Dialog, he had no actual professional experience as a journalist.
The win has validated Goodger who indicated that he now considers a career in writing.
“I do like the act of writing, I think it would be really cool to apply that to a full-time career someday,” Goodger said.
