University of Regina students win videography award for 'Crude Power' documentary in Price of Oil series

Journalism students from the University of Regina who partnered last year with National Observer, the Toronto Star and Global News in an unprecedented investigation have won an Emerge Media Award for a documentary about the money and influence of the oil industry in Saskatchewan.

The journalists, Caitlin Taylor, Jennifer Ackman, Janelle Blakely and Josh Diaz, were all honoured in Toronto Thursday night at the Emerge Conference, an annual gathering of young and graduating professionals, for producing the film, Crude Power: An investigation into oil, money and influence in Saskatchewan.

The project won in the videography category of the 2018 awards, beating out four other finalists.

The project was led by Michener Fellow Patti Sonntag. Faculty advisors from the University of Regina, Patricia Elliott, Trevor Grant, and Robin Lawless, supervised the project as part of a class assignment.

In addition to the four journalists who were named for the award, Madina Azizi, Cory Coleman, Brenna Engel, Adam Gamble, Jared Gottselig, Céline Grimard, Brandon Harder, Lauren Kaljur, Rebecca Marroquin, Michael Ruffolo, Katie Doke Sawatzky, Michaela Solomon, and Kyrsten Stringer also contributed to the documentary.

They produced the film in collaboration with research partners from the journalism schools at Concordia University, Ryerson University, and the University of British Columbia. The students also reviewed research from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the Parkland Institute, University of Victoria, and the Corporate Mapping Project as part of the project.

The award is the second honour announced this month for the Price of Oil series, which involved more than 50 journalists and is the largest Canadian journalism collaboration of its kind.

Next week, the journalists involved in the series will also receive an honourable mention from the Hillman Foundation as it celebrates its annual journalism award on March 28 in Toronto.