Bruce Hutchison Lifetime
Achievement Award

NEW for 2024 – Nominate a deserving journalist for the Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award.

Nominations from the public for the 2024 Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award will open on April 1st – 2024 with a deadline for submissions by May 26th, 2024 at midnight. You’ll find the online nomination form here, but read more below about what you’ll need to be prepared with.

ABOUT THE BRUCE HUTCHISON LIFETIME ACHIEVMENT AWARD

The Jack Webster Foundation’s Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award honours an exemplary BC journalism career.

In 1991, the Jack Webster Foundation established a lifetime achievement award and presented it to Canadian journalism legend and the award’s namesake, Bruce Hutchison.

Hutchison’s writing career stretched from 1950 at the Victoria Times Colonist, but even earlier than that as a high-school student, to 1992 at the Vancouver Sun. In between, he worked for the Province, Winnipeg Free Press, Financial Post and Maclean’s. He wrote more than a dozen books, received three national newspaper awards, four honourary university degrees and three governor general awards.

His published opinions helped shape Canadian public policy for several generations and his writing about the land and its people have had a major influence on the way we think about who we are and what we might become.

AWARD CRITERIA & HOW TO NOMINATE SOMEONE

This annual award recognizes the careers of senior reporters and editors who have received distinction in their communities for work of long-lasting significance, clarity, fairness and innovation. The outstanding career of Bruce Hutchison is a primary guide in reviewing potential candidates. Please note that nominations will not be accepted for individuals posthumously. Recipients of this award, like the Bill Good Award, are chosen, after careful consideration by the Jack Webster Foundation Board of Directors. Please note that all other Jack Webster Awards are chosen by an independent juried process that operates at strict arm’s-length from the Jack Webster Foundation Board of Directors.

To nominate someone, fill out the online nomination form here and be prepared with:

1. Approximate date span of the nominee’s multi-decade journalism career: (The more detail the better—if you can break down a 40-year career and state jobs/titles held over the years as pulled from a CV or other that would be helpful.)

2. Describe how the nominee has inspired excellence in others.

3. Describe the nominee’s contributions to B.C. journalism, and the province, and how they have had a transformational impact upon the journalism profession

4. Describe how the nominee has demonstrated innovation in journalism over the course of their career.

5. Describe how/when/where the nominee has been recognized for being a journalist who sets the bar high, with insightful journalism of exceptional quality.

Please attach the nominee’s resume.

Please attach two letters of support. Note: one of these letter may be from the person submitting the nomination.

2023 RECIPIENT

Frances Bula
2023 Jack Webster Foundation
Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Over her 35+ year career, Frances Bula has made significant contributions to the field of journalism in B.C. and has inspired excellence in others through her work as a journalist, commentator, journalism instructor, and professor. Her extensive experience reporting on urban issues and city politics, as well as her willingness to share her knowledge and expertise, has helped to raise the bar for journalism in British Columbia. As a teacher and professor at Kwantlen, Langara and UBC, Bula has inspired excellence in her students by encouraging them to think critically and creatively about the craft of journalism. She is known for her dedication to her students’ success in the fast-changing and challenging field of journalism. Bula’s dedication to excellence in journalism has also been demonstrated through her own work as a journalist. Her writing has been widely recognized starting with community newspapers in 1983, with the Vancouver Sun for 21 years, as a contributor to the Globe and Mail for almost 20 years, covering City Hall for 29 years plus work with Vancouver Magazine and BCBusiness Magazine where she currently has a column.  She’s received many regional and national awards, and from the publications listed it demonstrates how she has been sought out by many for her expertise on urban issues and city politics.  Bula’s contributions to the profession have had a lasting impact on journalism in B.C., and on the people and communities she serves through her reporting.

2022 RECIPIENT

Stephen Hume
2022 Jack Webster Foundation
Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Over a journalistic career spanning half a century (and still going strong), Stephen Hume has been an Arctic Correspondent, Editor-in-Chief, General Manager, published poet and author of seven books, a journalism instructor at Vancouver Island university and for 30-plus years a beloved columnist for The Vancouver Sun and now for Focus on Victoria magazine. Mr. Hume has a deep love for and knowledge about British Columbia — its natural beauty, abundant wildlife, complex history, rich resources, diverse people. He has travelled every region of our vast province, telling stories from small towns and big cities, about everyday folks and powerful leaders. Hume demonstrates mastery of long-form feature writing, weaving many threads of a story together into a multi-layered whole informed by deep historical
knowledge and current context. His skill and insight has won him many fans of his columns over the years and numerous journalism awards including, but not limited to the Southam President’s Award for commentary, many national newspaper award citations, and a Webster Award in 2000.