Finalists for 2025 Webster Awards Announced
Plus, tickets now on sale for the November 3rd Gala Dinner/Awards Evening
Featuring Katie Simpson, CBC Foreign Correspondent, based in Washington, D.C.
VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 22, 2025 /CNW/ – Finalists for the 2025 Webster Awards, Western Canada’s preeminent journalism awards, were announced today. The awards recognize excellence in journalism in B.C. Finalists’ information can be found below or see who they are and read/listen to/watch the finalists’ stories here. All finalists will be celebrated, and the winner in each category will be announced during the November 3rd Webster Awards event, a live, in-person gala dinner/awards evening at the Hyatt Regency, Vancouver, no-host reception 4:30 p.m. – 5:45 p.m. with dinner and the awards beginning at 6:00 p.m. Ticket can be purchased now here.
This year’s event will feature Katie Simpson, CBC Foreign Correspondent, based in Washington, D.C. who will share insights about the Canada-U.S. relationship, and the broader moment in which we exist. The evening will be hosted by Keri Adams, Anchor of CTV Your Morning Vancouver and Karen So, News Anchor, Cantonese News, OMNI Television.
The 2025 finalists were chosen by the Webster Awards jury, all members who are independent of the Jack Webster Foundation and its board. Submissions were encouraged from B.C. journalists whose work has been published/broadcast in print, radio/podcasts, television and in online media sources that cover news, sports, the arts, business, community issues, and more.
2025 Webster Awards Finalists
Best News Reporting of the Year – Print/Digital
–Brieanna Charlebois, Chuck Chiang, Darryl Dyck, Darryl Greer, Ashley Joannou, Rich Lam, Nono Shen, Brenna Owen, How Vancouver’s Lapu Lapu Day tragedy unfolded, The Canadian Press
–Nancy Macdonald, Pandora’s Block, The Globe and Mail
–Shannon Waters, Sarah Cox, Shawn Parkinson, What on earth happened with B.C.’s carbon tax?, The Narwhal
Best News Reporting of the Year – TV/Video
-Global BC Team: Sophie Liu, Chris Gailus, Marsha Gabriel, Joan Marshall, Soren Jensen, Alicia Van Dyck, Grace Ke, Emily Lazatin, Rumina Daya, Catherine Urquhart, Sarah MacDonald, Angela Jung, Alissa Thibault, Troy Charles, Nic Amaya, Clayton Little, Pat Bell, Steve Lyons, Chris Allard, Wayne Hancheruk, Luca Sgaetti, Dylan Baker, Dora Huang, Keith Whitter, Effie Klein, Tyson Stanley, Justin Minshull, Jason Pires, Lapu Lapu Day Tragedy, Global BC
–Michele Brunoro, Neglected and Ignored: How Authorities Failed to Protect 3 Children, CTV Vancouver
–Catherine Urquhart, Jordan Armstrong, Metro Vancouver Spending, Global BC
Commentator of the Year/City Mic Award
Presented in Memory of Linda Webster
–Michelle Cyca, The Narwhal
-Gary Mason, The Globe and Mail
–Marsha Lederman, The Globe and Mail
Excellence in Arts and Culture Reporting
–Janet Smith, B.C. arts groups grapple with uncertainty after being turned down for Canada Council tour funding, Stir Vancouver
–Brieanna Charlebois, Inside the devotion of Taylor Swift’s superfans, descending on Vancouver, The Canadian Press
– Jon Azpiri, Jane Skrypnek, Hunter Soo, David Horemans, This music star lived quietly in B.C. for years. His songs live on in a popular video game, CBC Vancouver
Excellence in Business Reporting
Endowed by Jean Cormier
–Graeme Wood, Nine B.C. public auditors hammered by U.S. regulator, Business in Vancouver
–Dee Hon, Darcy Matheson, Ryan Benn, Does that Compute?, BCBusiness Magazine
–Howard Chai, Investors Place Coromandel Properties Under Receivership As Saga Enters Third Year, STOREYS
Excellence in Community Reporting
Presented by the Al Roadburg Foundation
–Rowan Flood, David Ball, Lauren Kaljur, Shalu Mehta, Vancouver Island outdoor enthusiasts want authorities to ‘open the gates’ to the backcountry. Here’s why it’s complicated., The Discourse
-Julie Chadwick, Lauren Kaljur, Tiny homes and RVs help ease the housing crisis. So why is the Regional District of Nanaimo cracking down on them?, The Discourse
-Mike Graeme, How a colonial line shapes Tlingit lands — and my ancestor’s role in it, IndigiNews
Excellence in Environment Reporting
Presented by the Pacific Salmon Foundation
–Gordon Hoekstra, Rising temperatures will require billions to cool aging apartments, Vancouver Sun/Province
–Lori Culbert, Water has flowed from Vancouver taps for 100 years. What about the next century?, Vancouver Sun/Province
–Matt Simmons, Marty Clemens, Sarah Cox, Lindsay Sample, Michelle Cyca, The healing power of fire, The Narwhal
Excellence in Feature Reporting – Print/Digital
–Courtney Dickson, Wawmeesh Hamilton, Megan Stewart, Shawn Foss, Belonging: A NIsga’a Journey Home, CBC Vancouver and cbc.ca/bc
–Lesley Evans Ogden, Getting along with Grizzly Bears, Knowable Magazine and Smithsonian Magazine
-Steph Kwetásel’wet Wood, Michelle Cyca, Leaching heavy metals in the Great Bear Rainforest, The Narwhal
Excellence in Feature Reporting – Radio/Audio
–Elizabeth Hoath, Joan Webber, Drought in the Rainforest, CBC Radio – What On Earth and The Audio Documentary Unit
–Alan Regan, Julia Lipscombe, Stephen Quinn, Lisa Christiansen, Charis Hogg, Laurence Watt, Anna Park, Jennifer Wilson, Liam Britten, The Early Edition live with the Squamish Nation, CBC Vancouver
-Enza Uda, Joan Webber, Everybody Loves Jay, CBC Radio – The Current
Excellence in Feature Reporting – TV/Video
–Sophie Hansen, Emily Dineen, Lauren Accili, Lisa Kovtun, At What Cost? The Legacy of Florence Girard, BCIT News
–Danny Wang, Andy Lin, Wilson Ip, Lawrence Cheng, Celina Chan, Jessica Wu, Patrick Mak, Elaine Au, The Soccer Team From Chinatown, LS Times TV
–Scott Fee, Skye Ryan, Tchadas Leo, Kori Sidaway, Ethan Morneau, The Final Flight: Islanders say farewell to the Hawaii Martin Mars, CHEK News
Excellence in Health Reporting
–Lori Culbert, ‘Barrage of carnage:’ B.C. spinal surgeon warns of rise in mountain-biking injuries, Vancouver Sun/Province
–Jason Pires, Smoke Screen: Youth Vaping, Global BC
– Mike Hager, Kathryn Blaze Baum, Extended Leave, The Globe and Mail
Excellence in Investigative & Enterprise Journalism
Presented by the B.C. Crown Counsel Association
–Michele Brunoro, Brianna’s Story, CTV News Vancouver
–Nancy Macdonald, Greg Mercer, Simon Houpt, Canada Soccer’s Culture Problem, The Globe and Mail
–Gordon Hoekstra, Pointing fingers: Who should help homeowners whose properties are deemed unsafe over landslide risk, Vancouver Sun/Province
Excellence in Legal Journalism
Presented by the Law Society of B.C.
–Kim Bolan, Murder for hire: Why B.C. police target the shooters, but those behind the hits operate with ‘impunity’, Vancouver Sun/Province
–Dan Fumano, ‘A sad commentary on our justice system’; Tarsem Singh Gill, the B.C. developer charged 16 years ago for massive fraud, has never stood trial., Vancouver Sun/Province
–Jeremy Hainsworth, B.C. sheriff shortage creates court closures, Business in Vancouver
Excellence in Multilingual Journalism
–Genevieve Lasalle, Sowing the seeds of knowledge, Radio-Canada (French)
–Rhea Santos, Theresa Barrera, Arvin Joaquin, A Day After the Lapu-Lapu Day Tragedy in BC, OMNI Television (Tagalog)
–Zoey Zhang, Magazine 26 – The Story of Mon Keang School’s Rebirth, Fairchild Television (Chinese)
-Sarbmeet Singh, Why Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program is getting infamous, Radio Canada International (Punjabi)
Also at the 2025 Webster Awards event on November 3rd, the 2025 Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Keith Baldrey, the 2025 Bill Good Award will be presented to the Sean Holman, and the 2025 Shelley Fralic Award will be presented to Laura Palmer.
This year’s Webster Awards are made possible by Presenting Sponsors: BCGEU, BCIT, Beedie, Concord Pacific, FortisBC, Global Container Terminals Inc., Langara, Resource Works, Rogers, Uber, the Urban Development Institute, Pacific Region and West Coast Reduction. Supporting Sponsors: Angus Reid Group, Falkirk Environmental Consultants, Goodman Commercial Inc., Jim Pattison Group, Ledcor Group, Port of Vancouver, RBC, RedFM, Seaspan, YVR and ZLC Financial. Webster Award partners are Oh Boy Productions, Glacier Media, and the Vancouver Sun and Province. Cision is the exclusive distribution partner of the Jack Webster Foundation.
The Jack Webster Foundation was established in 1986, upon the retirement of its namesake, who was Western Canada’s best-known and most influential reporter, in order to foster and celebrate excellence in journalism, protect the public interest for British Columbian’s, and create a community where trusted outstanding journalism thrives.
SOURCE Jack Webster Foundation
