TORONTO, April 28, 2012 /CNW/ – A reporting team from the Hamilton Spectator has won Canada’s top investigative reporting award for the second year in a row.

Steve Buist and Teri Pecoskie won the Canadian Association of Journalists’ Don McGillivray Award for their series titled, “BORN: A Code Red Project.” It examined reams of public data on pregnancy and births and turned them into compelling articles, pictures and online content on just how well – or not – mothers and their children are faring across Ontario.

The duo were among 16 awards presented at the annual CAJ awards gala.

The recipient in most categories received a $500 cash prize. They were announced Saturday, at the CAJ Awards gala and conference banquet in Toronto, part of the 2012 CAJ conference at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.

Winning entries were presented by Global National anchor and executive editor Dawna Friesen who was the evening’s MC. The inaugural jhr / CAJ Human Rights Reporting Award and the inaugural CWA Canada / CAJ Labour Reporting Award were also presented with thanks to each award’s sponsoring partner.

The winner of the CWA Canada / CAJ Labour Reporting Award won $1,000 cash prize. The winner of the jhr / CAJ Human Rights Reporting Award won a $500 cash prize and will travel with jhr to one of its African project sites in the coming year. She will also be invited to the 2013 CAJ conference to share her experiences.

The Don McGillivray Award for the best ‘overall’ investigative report for 2011 was judged from the winners of the open newspaper / wire, community newspaper, open television (under 5 minutes), open television (over 5 minutes), magazine, open radio news / current affairs, regional television and CAJ / Marketwire CAR categories.

Please note that the media outlet listed is where the finalist worked at the time their entry was broadcast/published or where the particular entry was broadcast/published. Finalists are listed alphabetically by media outlet.

Investigative categories:

The winners in the OPEN TELEVISON (less than 5 minutes) category are:

Jorge Barrera and Kenneth Jackson

Barrera Carsons

APTN National News

The winners in the OPEN NEWSPAPER category are:

Steve Buist, Teri Pecoskie

Born: A Code Red project

Hamilton Spectator

The winner in the COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER category is:

Steve Bonspiel

Local tobacco giant busted

The Eastern Door (Khanawake)

The winner in the OPEN TELEVISION (greater than 5 minutes) category is:

Timothy Sawa, Diana Swain, Angela Gilbert

Scout’s Honour

CBC – the fifth estate

The winner in the MAGAZINE category is:

Selena Ross

Getting Plowed

Maisonneuve Magazine

The winners in the REGIONAL TELEVISON category are:

Charles Rusnell, Grant Gelinas

Pork barrel politics

CBC Edmonton

The winners in the OPEN RADIO NEWS/CURRENT AFFAIRS category are:

Charles Rusnell, Grant Gelinas

Crown conduct

CBC Edmonton

The winners in the CAJ/Marketwire COMPUTER-ASSISTED REPORTING (CAR) category are:

Andrew McIntosh, Kinia Adamczyk

On mange bien à Terrebonne

QMI Agency

Excellence in journalism categories

The winner in the DAILY EXCELLENCE category is:

Kim Bolan

Bacon brother shot dead in Kelowna

Vancouver Sun

The winner in the PHOTOJOURNALISM category is:

Steve Russell

Portfolio entry

Toronto Star

The winner in the PRINT FEATURE category is:

Andrew Stobo Sniderman

Residential schools: Survivors share the pain

Montreal Gazette

The winners in the SCOOP category are:

Natalie Clancy and Manjula Dufresne

Broken Mounties

CBC Vancouver

The winner for the inaugural JHR / CAJ AWARD FOR HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTING is:

Alison Crawford

The eyes of Rosa and Antonio

CBC Radio One – Dispatches

The winner for the inaugural CWA CANADA / CAJ LABOUR REPORTING AWARD is:

Rachel Mendleson

Income inequality and the decline of unions

Huffington Post Canada

The winner for the CAJ/CNW STUDENT AWARD OF EXCELLENCE is:

Matt DiMera

Dismissed! Student association settles RAF lawsuit

The Runner, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, B.C.

Consistent with information in the entry package instructions, judges had the discretion to name between one and five finalists in each award category. There were a total of 107 journalists (individuals or team) who submitted a total of 126 entries for the 2011 awards program.

Congratulations to all our winners. Your work has been outstanding, inspiring and we thank you for entering.