The Investigative Journalism Foundation has received two nominations in the 2024 Digital Publishing Awards, an annual celebration of the best in Canadian online media.
Reporters Kate Schneider and Roberto Rocha were both nominated in the data journalism category for stories published on the IJF’s very first day online.
"I'm so proud that we got two nominations in our first year of publishing," said IJF editor-in-chief Zane Schwartz. "These stories challenge power and showcase what's possible through complex data analysis combined with top-notch reporting."
Schneider’s story digs into the Liberal government’s military exports to authoritarian countries, finding an average of $1.3 billion in weapons sold every year to countries like Saudi Arabia. That’s an eight-fold increase compared to the average annual sales by Stephen Harper’s Conservatives.
Rocha, a former IJF journalist, received a nomination for his investigation into lobbyist attendance at pricey Liberal Party fundraisers. He uncovered how, despite the ruling party’s repeated promises to end “cash-for-access” fundraisers, lobbyists have paid to attend a substantial number of these events since 2019.
The IJF was created to support investigative and data journalism that challenges power, and to give Canadians access to information that helps them understand our democracy through an ever-expanding list of databases.
In the first 16 months of operation, the IJF has published more than 150 stories, including a growing number of collaborations with other media outlets, such as CBC in Saskatchewan and Toronto, the National Post, Capital Daily, CTV Regina, The Walrus, The Tyee, The Local News Data Hub and The Narwhal.
The Digital Publishing Awards will be handed out at a gala on June 7 in Toronto.