JHM Shortlist is live.
Scroll down to view JHM Shortlist. Thank you to all who nominated and congratulations to those who made it to the shortlist!
Winners to be announced at NASH86 held by the NAIT Nugget in Edmonton, AB.
Every year, CUP holds the John H. McDonald Awards for Excellence in Student Journalism.
Better known as the JHMs, these prestigious awards recognize the very best in student journalism across the country.
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Nominations are open to all student journalists, regardless of CUP member status. Non-members pay $15 for their first submission, and $5 for every subsequent submission. CUP members receive two free submissions per category, and $5 for every submission after. You will be invoiced after the submission period for any additional submissions by treasurer@cup.ca.
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2023-24 submissions closed. A shortlist for nominees is below.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR JHMs 2024 WINNERS
Arts & Culture Writing Award​
Y-Dang Troeung’s memoir Landbridge reflects on refugee existence and familial love
Elena Massing — The Ubyssey
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Humour/Satire Award
New UBC policy waives course pre-reqs if you have a crush in the class
Tova Gaster — The Ubyssey
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Marginalized Community Reporting Award
Ava Gili — Mars' Hill
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Feature Writing Award
Miles Bolton — The Western Gazette
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Investigative Reporting Award
Alleged hazing within a Carleton University Greek letter sorority
Faith Greco and Elissa Mendes — The Charlatan
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The CWA Labour Reporting Award​
CUPE3902’s fight for health coverage
Alice Boyle — The Varsity
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News Reporting Award​
Queen’s engineering exam question tweeted by Jordan Peterson
Sophia Coppolino and Sofia Tosello — The Queen's Journal
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Op-Ed Award
It happened. What are we going to do about it?
Imprint Staff — Imprint
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Sports Reporting Award
Pressure point: how performance anxiety affects student athletes
Miles Bolton — The Western Gazette
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Indigenous Reporting Award
Northern Perspectives: The Agreement that Changed It All
Cedric Gallant — The Concordian
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Science Reporting Award
ORCASat: How UVic students took an idea from campus to space
Hannah Seaton — The Martlet
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Cover/Layout of the Year
Angelica Blanch — Capilano Courier
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Graphic/Illustration of the Year
Keven Vaillancourt — The Concordian
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Photo of the Year
Isabella Maggiore — The Ubyssey
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Best Online Media Presence
Trent University, Peterborough, ON
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Student Journalist of the Year
Zachary Fortier
The Link — Concordia University, Montreal, QC
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Student Photojournalist of the Year​
Joesph Mariathasan
The Queen's Journal — Queen's University, Kingston, ON
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Student Publication of the Year
The Griff and the Western Gazette
JHMs
Shortlist
2024
Arts & Culture Writing Award
Eliana Freelund — McGill Daily
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Alexandra Holyk — The Eyeopener
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Y-Dang Troeung’s memoir Landbridge reflects on refugee existence and familial love
Elena Massing — The Ubyssey
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Judged by: Joshua Chong (Toronto Star), Izabella Balcerzak (Formerly of The Eyeopener)
Humour/Satire Award
BoG visited by ghosts of past, present and future
Thomas McLeod — The Ubyssey
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MacEwan Cryptids
The Griff Staff — The Griff
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New UBC policy waives course pre-reqs if you have a crush in the class
Tova Gaster — The Ubyssey
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Judged by: Sonya Fatah (Toronto Metropolitan University), Adrian Lee (The Globe and Mail)
Marginalized Community Reporting Award
Ava Gili — Mars' Hill
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Let’s Talk Texture: How Black TMU Students Navigate Societal Perceptions of their Hair
Bana Yirgalem — The Eyeopener
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Reckoning The Worst Pride Month in 54 Years
Evan Robins — Arthur Newspaper
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Judged by: John Loeppky (Freelance), Tobi Abdul (Little Androm Media)
Feature Writing Award
Miles Bolton — The Western Gazette
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Healing beyond healthcare: Fostering support with trans and gender-diverse communities
Caroline Tucker — The Martlet
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Evan Robins — Arthur Newspaper
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Judged by: Inori Roy (The Local), Sonya Fatah (Toronto Metropolitan University)
Investigative Reporting Award
Alleged hazing within a Carleton University Greek letter sorority
Faith Greco and Elissa Mendes — The Charlatan
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Behind the de-ratification of Western’s largest club
Estella Ren — The Western Gazette
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The loose threads in U of T’s labour standards
Maeve Ellis — The Varsity
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Judged by: Morgan Bocknek (Toronto Star), Jim Rankin (Toronto Star), Xavier Richer Vis (Formerly Investigative Journalism Foundation)
The CWA Labour Reporting Award
Canada allows international students to work more than 20 hours
Armando Mejia — The Aquinian
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CUPE3902’s fight for health coverage
Alice Boyle — The Varsity
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Floor Fellows File Grievance Against New Room Accommodations
Emma Bainbridge — McGill Daily
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Judged by: Arvin Joaquin (OMNI News), Chris Hannay (The Globe and Mail)
News Reporting Award
‘I can’t see you out of my eye’: Alleged BB gun shooting victim recounts night
Adshayah Sathiaseelan and Sophia Schiefler — The Western Gazette
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Queen’s engineering exam question tweeted by Jordan Peterson
Sophia Coppolino and Sofia Tosello — The Queen's Journal
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Alicia Wang — Imprint
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Judged by: Justin Chandler (CBC Hamilton), Emily Tayler (CHCH News)
Op-Ed Award
Editorial: Pride Month is not your merchandising opportunity
Evan Robins — Arthur Newspaper
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It happened. What are we going to do about it?
Imprint Staff — Imprint
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Editorial: STU’s in-camera president’s reports don’t reflect liberal arts values
Aaron Sousa — The Aquinian
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Judged by: Scott Colby (Toronto Star), Cliff Lee (The Globe and Mail)
Sports Reporting Award
Miles Bolton — The Western Gazette
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Pressure point: how performance anxiety affects student athletes
Miles Bolton — The Western Gazette
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Willie Woo: The Forgotten Story of “The First Great Chinese All-round Athlete in Canada”
Brian Yuhan Wang — McGill Daily
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Judged by: Bruce Arthur (Toronto Star), Tyson Shushkewich (Canadian Baseball Network)
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Indigenous Reporting Award
‘It’s beautiful when I get to practice both’: How Indigenous cultures and sports overlap
Miriam Celebiler — The Ubyssey
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Northern Perspectives: The Agreement that Changed It All
Cedric Gallant — The Concordian
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Alice Boyle — The Varsity
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Judged by: Cliff Lee (The Globe and Mail), Adrian Lee (The Globe and Mail)
Science Reporting Award
Getting bogged down in a unique Pacific Spirit Park ecosystem
Anabella McElroy — The Ubyssey
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ORCASat: How UVic students took an idea from campus to space
Hannah Seaton — The Martlet
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Manan Joshi — The Western Gazette
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Judged by: William Lou (Sportsnet), Tim Alamenciak (University of Waterloo)
Cover/Layout of the Year
Angelica Blanch — Capilano Courier
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Miriam Celebiler, Mahin E. Alam — The Ubyssey
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Josh Ralla — The Peak
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Judged by: Liam Afonso (Ellum Media), Rose Pereira (Freelance/Contract Graphic Designer)
Graphic/Illustration of the Year
Midwifery research bridges equity gaps in birthing care
Bessie Guo — The Ubyssey
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Keven Vaillancourt — The Concordian
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Amelia Hart — The Concordian
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Judged by: Liam Afonso (Ellum Media), Rose Pereira (Freelance/Contract Graphic Designer)
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Photo of the Year
Sam Poier — The Griff
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Isabella Maggiore — The Ubyssey
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Sophie Bouquillon — The Western Gazette
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Judged by: Andrej Ivanov (Freelance), Fred Lum (The Globe and Mail), Theresa Suzuki (The Globe and Mail)
Best Online Media Presence
Trent University, Peterborough, ON
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MacEwan University, Edmonton, AB
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Western University, London, ON
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Judged by: Eva Salinas (CBC Hamilton), Erin Valois (Postmedia)
Student Journalist of the Year
Nathan Bawaan
The Ubyssey — University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
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Zachary Fortier
The Link — Concordia University, Montreal, QC
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Sonia Persaud
The Western Gazette — Western University, London, ON
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Judged by: Arshy Mann (Canadaland), Erin Valois (Postmedia)
Student Photojournalist of the Year
Sophie Bouquillon
The Western Gazette — Western University, London, ON
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Sammy Kogan
The Eyeopener — Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON
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Joesph Mariathasan
The Queen's Journal — Queen's University, Kingston, ON
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Judged by: Andrej Ivanov (Freelance), Fred Lum (The Globe and Mail), Rich Lam (The Globe and Mail),
Student Publication of the Year
To be voted by members at 2024 JHM Awards. All current CUP member publications are eligible.
Frequently Asked Questions
I'm not a CUP member. Can my publication still receive awards?
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Yes, the JHMs are open to all Canadian student publications, even non-CUP members. CUP members receive free submissions to each category, with a maximum of two submissions per category.
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What are the rules of submission?
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CUP members can submit two submissions per category with no cost. Subsequent submissions can be submitted for $5. Non-CUP members and individuals can submit their first submission for $15, and every subsequent submission for $5 each. Non-CUP members are also limited to two submissions per category.
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What are the eligibility requirements?
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Pieces published from October 1, 2022 - November 1, 2023 are eligible for this year's awards. Pieces must be published by a student writer of the publication at the time of publishing. They no longer need to be a student writer at the time of submission.
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Who decides the winners?
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Each year, a talented board of industry professionals are chosen to judge the JHMs. The judges represent various facets of the journalism and media industry. Interested in being a judge? Email president@cup.ca for more information.
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Where can I find the criteria for each award?
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You can find the criteria for each award under our Award Categories page.
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How do I nominate?
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NOMINATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED. You can nominate yourself or someone else by visiting tinyurl.com/jhm2024. Fill out the Google Form and attach a PDF of the article. Be sure to remove any bylines to ensure judges are not aware of who wrote the piece. Please make sure that you are the only one submitting the nomination, as multiple nominations result in disqualification for that particular award.
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Why is there an overlap between last year's nomination period and this year's nomination period?
You may nominate pieces from October 1, 2022 to November 1, 2023. There is a short overlap with last year's submission period in effort to get the JHMs back on a schedule. Pieces from the overlap that won last year's awards will not be reconsidered for this year.
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