The Tyee Wins Two Digital Publishing Awards. And a US Honour

At this moment when The Tyee is inviting readers to join our monthly supporters, awards judges have given big thumbs up to the journalism our paying members make possible.

In fact, The Tyee is having quite a moment this award season. We nabbed 10 nominations across the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards this year.

A prestigious general excellence prize

Today, we’re proud to share that we received gold in the general excellence for medium-sized publications category at the DPAs. This prize recognizes overall excellence at a publication, and we were nominated alongside fellow indies Canadaland and Le Devoir.

"The Tyee sets the bar for quality independent media in Canada. The more time [the jury] spent on the site, the more stories [they] wanted to click on and read," the jury wrote as part of their citation.

“The Tyee [is] an independent online institution that has the seriousness of an institution but the honesty of a free entity… no fluff, no busy banner ads, just good journalism.”

We feel seen!

“There is so much to unpack in this award and in the comments from the panel,” said Tyee publisher Jeanette Ageson. “First, we previously won the General Excellence Award in the small publication category, so it’s a huge accomplishment to have grown such that we’re in a new class of publication. And our team works thoughtfully to publish a lively mix of quality journalism on a site that’s a joy to read. I’m so glad that this comes through and is recognized by our peers.”

Early career accomplishments recognized

We’re also very excited to announce that, for the second year in a row, a Tyee reporter has won the Emerging Excellence Award, which honours “an individual whose early work in Canadian digital publishing shows the highest degree of craft and promise.”

Our climate change reporter Michelle Gamage took home this year’s prize.

Polls and reader surveys have consistently identified climate as a top concern for our readers. In 2019, ahead of the federal election, readers’ top question was whether Canada should recognize climate change as an emergency. At the beginning of this year, a poll of Tyee readers again identified climate coverage as a top priority.

“Readers want to know what’s happening, how bad it is, and what solutions are possible,” said managing editor andrea bennett. “They want deep, knowledgeable reporting that is fair, thorough and engaging. And this is exactly what Michelle provides.”

The jury agreed. “The clarity of Michelle Gamage’s writing is a rare quality, and helps illustrate the thoroughness of her reporting. Her obvious care for her work and attention to detail make her a standout.”

“This is such an honour,” Michelle Gamage said while accepting the award. “I can’t believe that I get to do what I do every day. I’m so excited to see where we get to go from here.”

A prize for cross-border collaboration

Last month The Tyee shared a top award for collaboration from the Society of Professional Journalists in Washington state. The winning project was “Getting to Zero: Decarbonizing Cascadia,” a year-long, 20-story initiative we helped produce and publish in 2021.

Other partners were project leader InvestigateWest, Grist and Crosscut, all three based in Seattle, along with Jefferson Public Radio in southern Oregon. Among the Tyee contributions were two reports: "Ten Jobs for Getting to Work on a Zero Emissions Future" by Michelle Gamage and “Seed the North: Fighting Climate Change One Sprout at a Time" by Amanda Follett Hosgood.

To read the entire series as it appeared on The Tyee, this wrap-up piece includes a list of all the articles: “Cascadia’s Chance for a Zero-Carbon Future: What We Learned."

“We were proud to participate in this border straddling initiative and I hope we see more like it,” said Tyee editor-in-chief David Beers. “From the top of California to Alaska, there are many people working on solutions within the same bio-region. Collaborative projects like this spread news of shared challenges and best practices.”

How you can support Tyee journalism

The Tyee is in the midst of a spring member drive aiming to add 500 new monthly supporters to our ranks. The drive, which launched May 24 and runs until June 13, is one third of the way to our goal.

We exist to carry out reporting of the highest standards, and today we’re buoyed to receive recognition for our reporting.

But it’s the support of thousands of readers who pitch in to our editorial budget that allows us to continue to do this vital work. If you appreciate The Tyee — and want to help us celebrate! — please consider pitching in.