Writer/Producer category

Date award received: 
2013

Andrew Gregg, nominated by Robert McGhee, for his production of the TV documentary “The Norse, An Arctic Mystery”, which aired on CBC’s The Nature of Things, 22 November 2012.
* The production value and cinematography of this piece helped portray the experience of working in the Canadian North, and presented a wonderful mix of local archaeology and larger discipline issues and questions, dealing with a particularly interesting and controversial topic. The episode drew one of the largest audiences for The Nature of Things in the past season.
http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episode/the-norse-an-arctic-mystery.html

Heather Pringle, nominated by Robert McGhee, for her article “Vikings and Native Americans” in the November 2012 issue of National Geographic, and the related article “Evidence of Viking Outpost Found in Canada” in National Geographic News, Online 19
October 2012.
* Both articles focus on the same research as presented in the Gregg documentary. Heather is an experienced and widely published science journalist, and this is highly evident in these well written, factual articles that represent a somewhat cautious yet pointed presentation of this extremely controversial topic in Canadian archaeology. These articles served to capture public attention and interest at a very high level, and brought a fascinating piece of Canadian archaeological research to a far broader, international audience than is the usual.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/11/vikings-and-indians/pringle-text
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/10/121019-viking-outpost-second-new-canada-science-sutherland/

Jude Isabella, nominated by Iain McKechnie and Nicole Smith, for her online article “Sifting Evidence with BC’s Ancient Civilization Sleuths” in The Tyee, a BC independent daily online magazine, October 2012.
* Another science journalist who has written for publications such as Archaeology Magazine, this article by Jude was refreshingly different from the typical polished science articles. Her personal narrative style served to capture the human experience of work on the west coast, including the involved process, setting, and characters, along with presentation of the realities of scientific enquiry in this environment. The photos that accompanied the story, many taken by Jude herself, served to truly capture the story in a way not often seen in such journalistic attempts. As part of the digital medium, Jude also took full advantage of links between this story and others, which proved most helpful and insightful.
http://thetyee.ca/News/2012/10/30/Archaeology-on-BC-Coast/

Robin Bicknell, nominated by Jennifer Birch, for writing, direction, and production of the TV documentary “Curse of the Axe”, which aired on the History Channel in July 2012.
* Robin’s writing, direction, and production weaves a compelling narrative that immerses the audience in the “mystery” of the “axe” and the Mantle site. Field shots, X-rays of artifacts, quality re-enactments and reconstructions, and interviews with the researchers all served to engross the average viewer. Robin’s film drew attention to an aspect of Canadian archaeology in both the national and international media, and the story was picked up by dozens of news outlets. The level of media attention was unprecedented for an Iroquoian site and led to thousands of people being exposed to Canadian archaeology. In January 2013, the film was even nominated for a Gemini Award.
http://www.history.ca/curseoftheaxe/video/feature+presentation/curse+of+the+axe/video.html?v=2253301891#curseoftheaxe/video/feature+presentation