Two reporters from the Montreal Gazette have been nominated for the top awards in Quebec journalism.
The Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec (FPJQ) announced the nominees for its annual Judith-Jasmin Awards for excellence in journalism on Tuesday.
Among those recognized for their efforts were Gazette reporters Linda Gyulai and Aaron Derfel.
Gazette reporter Linda Gyulai
Gyulai, a civic affairs reporter, was nominated in the Judith-Jasmin Awards beat category for a body of work, including an article about the newspaper’s successful quest to have the city of Montreal make public the losing bids for municipal contracts to make the contract-awarding process more open.
Derfel, a 27-year veteran of the Gazette newsroom, was nominated in the investigative reporting category this year for a feature article that examined the circumstances surrounding the death of a patient who was denied emergency surgery at St. Mary’s Hospital.
“These articles by Linda and Aaron are examples of the fine work being produced by our journalists,” said Montreal Gazette city editor Louise Solomita, “and they highlight the important role that investigative journalism continues to play in our city.”
Gyulai, who’s worked at the Montreal Gazette for 18 years, has been nominated for the Judith-Jasmin Awards on two other occasions.
In 2009, the Montreal Gazette won the Michener Award for Meritorious Public Service Journalism for a series of articles by Gyulai about Montreal’s controversial water meter contract. She also took home the Canadian Association of Journalists award that same year.
Gyulai was honoured by the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom this year.
Gazette reporter Aaron Derfel
This is Derfel’s third nomination for a Judith-Jasmin Award. Derfel, who covers the health beat, previously won a Judith-Jasmin award for best journalism (short-form) in 2004.
He also won a joint award from the Canadian Medical Association and Canadian Nurses Association in 2009.
The 2016 winners will be announced at the FPJQ convention Nov. 19 at the Manoir St-Sauveur. A full list of the nominees is available at www.fpjq.org
