April 15, 2015 – A Community TV Documentary about “Clara’s Big Ride”, Clara Hughes’s cross-Canada cycling tour in the summer of 2014 to raise awareness for Mental Health and help reduce the stigma of mental health, is up for a Tuned-In Canada: CCSA Award . It was a significant event in the North as Clara visited 9 communities over two weeks, including an epic bicycle ride down the remote Dempster Highway. The Northwestel Community TV team was able to partner with other sources and film much of our own coverage in different communities to put together the story of Clara’s trip across the North. It was a unique and powerful journey that we were able to tell in a unique and powerful way and we feel very lucky to have been able to be a part of something very special in our northern neighbourhood. The trip lasted two weeks, but its coverage we can play again and again as a legacy of such an important event and message.

This kind of coverage engages the community to tell newsworthy stories outside the standard traditional news format. Community TV can augment traditional media to deliver a story in more detail, from different angles and incorporate different perspectives from the community.

Vote until May 22 and check out the other nominees here.