Awards are, at best, an imperfect measure of journalistic value. Still, they can offer a useful signal about what kinds of work are resonating within the profession at a given moment.
I was recently recognized with a regional award from the RTDNA Canada in the opinion category in the West Region which includes British Columbia and the Yukon. The piece for The Conversation Canada was about people’s willingness to pay for news.
Opinion journalism today occupies a complicated space. It is no longer confined to traditional columns or broadcast segments but exists within a broader ecosystem where commentary, analysis, and reporting increasingly overlap. The challenge is to remain rigorous and evidence-based while engaging audiences who encounter news in fragmented, algorithmically mediated ways.
Recognition at the regional level is encouraging, but more as an indication of the relevance of these questions than as an endpoint.