Sheila Coles receives lifetime achievement award, CBC Saskatchewan wins 5 RTDNA awards
Prairie journalists and their work were honoured at an awards ceremony on Saturday evening, as CBC Saskatchewan scooped up five awards, while former CBC Saskatchewan Morning Edition host Sheila Coles was honoured with a lifetime achievement award.
The Canadian Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) prairie region meeting took place on Saturday night in Regina, recognizing the best in local digital, television and radio coverage.
Since hanging up her headphones after being in the morning host chair for more than 20 years, Coles has been travelling in South America. Reached at her latest stop in Chile, Coles said she considered herself fortunate to have spent so many years in the field of journalism.
"To actually get recognition for doing something you love is pretty amazing," she told CBC Afternoon Edition host Garth Materie.
Beyond recognizing Coles and Edmonton journalist Geoff Stickle with lifetime achievement awards, the RTDNA also recognized Alicia Bridges' work, with her In Line for Life story on organ donation in Saskatchewan winning in the digital category for data storytelling.
CBC Saskatchewan's social media team, Karin Yeske and Madeline Kotzer, received an excellence in social media award, for digital coverage of the 2017 Saskatchewan budget.
The diversity award (Adrienne Clarkson) for prairie radio recognized journalist Rachel Zelniker's work on an all-female Indigenous drum group at Regina's Thom Collegiate.
The Morning Edition team also won an award in the Radio News Information Program (Peter Gzowski) category for its coverage of the Dec. 13 Fond-du-Lac plane crash.
CBC Saskatchewan's TV newscast (Bert Cannings), previously anchored by Jill Morgan and currently anchored by Christy Climenhaga, also won in the small/medium prairies television category.
