2024 Journalist of the Year: Aaron Beswick

Aaron Beswick of The Chronicle Herald took what could have been a dry, regional story about the bureaucratic and legal woes plaguing Nova Scotian fishers and made it a national issue.

His investigation of the ongoing battle over juvenile eel and lobster achieved all the hallmarks of remarkable storytelling: a record of community conflict and crime, including shootings and arson; compelling sources; and concerted efforts to create transparency and hold powers to account. 

Beswick’s reporting was exhaustive and included a series of exclusive revelations.

Judges recognized his work by awarding him the 2024 E. Cora Hind Award for Local Reporting and naming him the 2024 Journalist of the Year.

“If you’re a Chronicle Herald reader, this is the lifeblood of your community. The audience that’s reading this — this is what they want to read about,” judges said.

The impact of Beswick’s reporting went beyond Halifax, leading the House of Commons’ standing committee on fisheries to hold emergency hearings and grill officials from Fisheries and Oceans Canada on their failure to crack down on illegal fishing. Members of Parliament quoted his stories. 

“This complicated story — about these numbers and these prices and illegal fishing and how it affects different markets — it’s all very relevant to today, with global trade on everyone’s mind,” judges said. “He shed light on a topic that is important to the industry, Canadians nationwide and internationally.”

The journalist of the year is selected from among the winners of each category, with only individuals or two-person teams eligible. This year’s judging panel reviewed the work of winning journalists in 16 categories before selecting Beswick. The panel was composed of National Newspaper Award-winners Jason A. Chiu, Jaren Kerr and Magdaline Boutros, who was co-winner of the Journalist of the Year award in 2021.

This is the 11th time a Journalist of the Year has been named at the National Newspaper Awards.